Lucky Ones
by Brandi Golightly
Summary: On a school trip to the Met, Clint Barton, an 18-year-old from Brooklyn, accidentally bumps into Natasha Romanoff, a 17-year-old from the Upper East Side. Clint is instantly smitten but he realizes it's going to take a lot more than the bright lights and cityscapes of NYC to win her over. An AU story.
1. Chapter 1

**Oh hey, look who's got another story right here! Trust me, this one came out of the blue today while I was in my Pop Culture and the City class. We were talking about how the city (specifically New York City) is portrayed negatively and positively in film. One of the things mentioned for positives was that the city is a place for chance encounters. So, naturally, my mind wandered and somehow ended up thinking about Clint and Natasha. This is the outcome. I hope you like this one you guys.**

* * *

It was a crisp and cool fall day in New York City. Golden leaves littered the ground as the wind whipped through the trees and sent more of the crunchy and decaying leaves fluttering to the ground.

Students of Bedford Academy High School hopped off of the bus and onto the sidewalk of Fifth Avenue in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Clint Barton hopped off of the bus with his friends, Steve Rogers, Thor Odinson, and Bruce Banner, and joined the rest of his classmates in front of the massive museum steps. They gathered in a semi-circle in front of their English teacher, Mr. Coulson, as he began to explain their assignment for the next couple hours.

The high school students groaned when they learned of the work they had to do for the day. They were instructed to find a piece of artwork in the museum and relate it to a piece of literature that they already read in class. Not only that, but they had to hand in a five-page report about it on Monday. On the bright side, at least they had the weekend to finish the assignment.

Once the student were instructed what to do, Mr. Coulson handed their tickets to them and sent them on their way. As the students dispersed, Mr. Coulson shouted that they were to meet outside of the museum at one o'clock so they could head back to school in time for dismissal. The students waved off his comment as they mounted the iconic museum steps and headed into the massive building.

The English students branched off into various directions as they went to find an exhibit to relate to the literature in class. Clint, Bruce, Steve, and Thor had no idea where to start. They didn't know the first thing about art and they didn't particularly care for it. Therefore, they were going to procrastinate on the project as much as possible.

They found a café in the back of the museum and immediately ordered something to eat. They quickly grabbed a table and sat down to eat their food.

"You know, we really should be working on our project," Bruce said sheepishly. Bruce was the quietest out of the group of friends but he was also the smartest. Though Bruce preferred science over art and English, he still understood when he had to get his assignments done. Even if they were assignments that weren't his forte.

"Don't worry about it, Bruce. We'll get it done before the day is over. We'll just put it off 'til the last second like we always do," Steve said, waving off Bruce's comment. Steve was unofficially considered the leader of the group. He somehow became the person Clint, Thor, and Bruce go to when they're struggling with something in their lives and he always became the voice of reason when need be.

"I'm going to go get another Panini," Thor said as he slid his chair away from the table. Despite eating two already, Thor was obviously still hungry as always. Thor was the resident goofball of the group who always made any of the other guys laugh when they were down. He could also eat an entire Junior's cheesecake in a couple bites. Steve, Clint, and Bruce constantly joked that Thor should enter the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island every Fourth of July. Though they joked about it, Thor always believed that they were serious.

Clint picked at his sandwich as Steve and Bruce started to engage in a conversation about the latest episode of _Boardwalk Empire_. As Clint glanced around at his friends, he realized that there really wasn't anything special about him compared to his group of friends. Bruce was a science whiz. Steve was the star player on the basketball team. Thor was the best wrestler in the school.

What exactly did Clint do to make him stand out from his group of friends? They would be graduating in June and Clint would have nothing special to show for it. He didn't do any extra-curricular activities but his grades were decent. They could be better if he applied himself. That and if he didn't smoke so much pot.

Clint had to admit to himself that he was just boring. He lived in the greatest city on Earth and he had never even done anything remotely exciting. Sure he would hang out with Steve, Thor, and Bruce on the weekends and go to parties with them but he never did anything outrageous. He would have one or two beers and then call it quits.

He didn't even hook up with girls. Despite constant advances from a girl named Bobbi in his class and his friends' encouragement, Clint never considered it. He'd made out with girls before but he was never interested in any of them and he felt like he couldn't just take advantage of them only to end it several minutes later.

As Clint pondered this, he made the decision that he would take chances for his final year of high school. It was too late to make a name for himself in high school so he was going to have to settle for taking on whatever adventure life threw at him. If there was party, he was going to have three or four beers and maybe a couple shots. He'll make out with that girl, Bobbi, and maybe even go to second base with her.

Whatever life was going to throw at him, he was going to take that chance. It was time for Clint Barton to live a little.

* * *

Clint, Steve, Thor, and Bruce ran down the steps of the Met to join their classmates. It was almost one o'clock so they were going to head back to school in just a few minutes. Though they didn't care about spending an entire day in a museum, Clint, Steve, Thor, and Bruce figured it was better than spending their day in the dreary classrooms at Bedford.

"Well what about that one with the statue on the wall? The one that looked like Spider-Man?" Steve suggested.

"And how exactly are we going to relate that to the stuff we've read in class?" Bruce inquired with an arch of his eyebrows.

"A fly on the wall. _Lord of the Flies_," Thor suggested.

"Yeah, you clearly never did the reading when we were assigned it," Steve guffawed as Clint and Bruce joined him in a round of laughter. Thor flushed a deep shade of red and shuffled off to find a hot dog vendor to get something to eat for the ride back to Brooklyn.

Clint shook his head at his friend's stupidity as he set his backpack down on the ground to put his notebook back in its rightful place. When his notebook was back in his bag and it was all zipped up, he stood up and swung the backpack onto his back.

Immediately, he felt his backpack collide with something and he heard that something go crashing to the ground. Clint heard a groan and he whipped around to see what damage he had done.

Crouched over the strewn notebooks and papers was a girl with fiery red hair. She was wearing the finest designer pea coat and leather boots money could buy so she was no doubt from the Upper East Side. She wore black tights to shield her bare legs from the cold and Clint could see a plaid skirt sticking out from underneath her coat.

Clint was suddenly pulled back into reality when the girl groaned again as she grabbed a crumpled up piece of paper. He hoisted his backpack further onto his back and crouched down to help her gather her things. He had done the damage; he might as well help clean it up.

When he had gathered up a pile of notebooks and papers, he held them out for the red-headed girl to take. She straightened out her own pile of papers and notebooks before lifting her head to face Clint. Clint had to restrain himself from gasping and letting his mouth hang open when her eyes connected with his. Her eyes were a gorgeous shade of green – almost like emeralds – that sparkled despite the gloomy autumn day.

"Thanks," she said as she grabbed the papers from Clint. She placed the papers on top of her neat pile of supplies and stood up. Instantly, Clint shot up so he was eye-level with her.

"I'm, umm, really sorry. I wasn't paying attention," Clint said sheepishly.

"It's fine. It happens. This is New York City after all," the girl said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Clint stared at her for a couple more seconds. She had pale porcelain skin that stood out against her full, red lips. She was wearing just a hint of makeup that Clint knew she clearly didn't need and her hair hung in loose curls that barely brushed her shoulders. Most importantly, those green eyes were absolutely captivating. Her red hair may be vibrant, but her green eyes were enchanting.

"Hey, are you okay?" the girl said, waving her hand in front of Clint's face. He shook his head; he didn't realize he'd been staring.

"Sorry. Just…sorry," Clint mumbled.

"It's alright. I've got to go. Thanks for picking up my stuff for me," she said. She hurried off with her notebooks and papers cradled against her chest. Clint couldn't help but stare at her as she walked away. The way her curls bounced with every step. The way her skirt hit high up on her thighs. The way her hips moved from side to side with every stride. Everything about her was enticing.

"Hey, what are you looking at?" Steve asked as he shoved Clint from behind.

Clint shook his head. "Nothing," he said, turning his attention back to his friends. As he shifted his feet, he felt them kick something. He glanced down and saw a black wallet lying on the sidewalk. Clint bent down to pick it up and studied it.

"She must've left it," Clint muttered to himself.

"Who must've left it?" Clint jumped at the sound of Bruce's voice. He shot up to stand straight, the wallet still in his hands.

"This, umm, girl. I accidentally knocked her books out of her hands when I swung my backpack around. She must've…forgotten her wallet," Clint explained. He quickly shot a glance over his shoulder in hopes that the girl was coming back. However, he didn't see her at all. There was no way he could miss that bright red hair.

"Well open it up! Look for an ID or something!" Steve ordered. Clint opened the wallet and came face to face with a picture of the smiling red head from a school ID. Her hair looked exactly the same as it did when Clint saw her no less than five minutes ago. But there was no mistaking those green eyes Clint had been so lost in.

Clint pulled out the school ID to get a better look at which school it was for and for the girl's name. He immediately spotted the crest for The Dalton School, a private university preparatory school on the Upper East Side. Clint scrunched his nose in slight disgust at the famous private school and continued to search the ID for the girl's name. His eyes searched until they came across the girl's name at the bottom of the ID.

Natasha Romanoff.

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**Have I interested you guys? Will you stick around? If so, let me know so I know it's worth continuing! Therefore, reviews are much appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I was going to update this on Friday, but then I got distracted by brainstorming for later chapters (which I think you guys are going to love). Then I was going to update it last night, but college life got in the way. And I'm not talking about schoolwork. Anyways, here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

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Clint sat on his bed later that night staring at the wallet. When he had gotten home from school, he had searched the wallet some more to see if there was more information on Miss Romanoff. A phone number. An address. Something that could give Clint some sort of clue as to how he could return the wallet to her. Knowing that she went to The Dalton School didn't really help and Clint just wasn't going to show up at the school one day and return it her. Besides, Clint had school himself to worry about. As much as he wanted to give this girl her wallet back, he wasn't going to skip school to do it, especially since he would have to travel to the Upper East Side in Manhattan to do it.

Clint had searched all the pockets and crevices in hopes of finding some sort of way to contact the red headed girl. In the process, he found that her wallet was stuffed with several platinum credit cards and gift cards to high end department stores. As if what she was wearing when he ran into her wasn't a clear enough indication that she was much better off than Clint, she owned all of these cards that clearly meant she could afford anything she wanted.

Fortunately, Clint did find another ID lodged in another pocket inside the wallet. It was a New York state driver's license which, of course, listed her home address. Why the ID was shoved in a pocket that was hidden from the rest, Clint had no clue. Either way, he knew of a way to give the wallet back to her since he knew her address.

However, there was a problem. Who was to say that Miss Romanoff wouldn't accuse Clint of stealing her wallet? It was perfectly valid. People from the Upper East Side could get vicious and nasty. There was no telling how she would react when he brought her wallet back to her. There was a possibility that she would thank him, and there was a possibility she would call the cops and frame him for stealing her wallet.

But Clint felt like she wasn't the type of girl to accuse him of stealing her wallet. She may be from the Upper East Side but there was just something about her that Clint saw that made her seem different from all the other snooty people.

He could be wrong. She could be just like everyone else from the Upper East Side. She could put on a nice girl façade and be just as cold-hearted and cruel as everyone else from that neighborhood. There was no way Clint would know unless he delivered her wallet to her.

As he continued to sit and stare at the wallet, contemplating how he was going to execute this, he realized that he was going to forgo a plan. He had vowed he would live a little. He was going to return her wallet to her and maybe she'd be really grateful for his act of kindness.

Then it was decided that Clint Barton would venture to the Upper East Side, find Natasha Romanoff, and return her wallet to her. And maybe, just maybe, he would ask her out.

And he would ask her out only if she didn't call the cops on him first.

* * *

When Clint awoke on Saturday morning, he got ready for his day like he normally did. He went downstairs and poured himself a bowl of cereal then went to sit on the couch to watch some cartoons. Eighteen years old and he still enjoyed the occasional Saturday morning cartoon.

He finished his cereal and headed back upstairs to get dressed. Grabbing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans from his dresser, he stripped out of his t-shirt and shorts and pulled on the clean clothes. He quickly ran to the bathroom to brush his teeth then ran back into his room to grab his wallet, his phone, and Natasha Romanoff's wallet.

He rushed down the steps and out of the house in hopes of avoiding his parents' and brother's questions. The last thing he needed them to know was that he had some stranger's wallet. He walked at a brisk pace down the sidewalk to the subway station to catch a train into the city. This whole trip was going to be exhausting and it was probably going to cost him a fortune, but he constantly reminded himself that he was doing it for good reason.

He reached the station and the train immediately barreled in, causing several patrons to take a step back. The train came to a stop and the doors opened with a _whoosh_. Clint stepped onto the train and grabbed a seat as quick as he could before anyone else could take it.

Once everyone was loaded onto the train, it lurched forward and sped off towards its next destination. Clint pulled out his phone and started playing a game from one of the apps. He knew he could so easily get lost in his game, but he knew he had to pay attention to the stops. In a few minutes he would have to switch to another train that would take him to the Upper East Side.

When he reached the station he needed to get off at, he rose from his seat and stepped off of the train to head to the platform that would take him to Midtown. Within a minute of arriving, the train bound uptown arrived. Clint quickly looked around at his surroundings and stepped on the train. The next time he would reemerge from the subway, he would be in the posh neighborhood of the Upper East Side.

* * *

Clint's eyes flitted back and forth between the driver's license and the building he stood in front of. He was almost certain he had the right address but for some reason, he just couldn't bring himself to walk into the building. He had traveled all this way from Brooklyn and across Manhattan to return her wallet to her and he was too chicken to do it.

"Young man, if you have no business with any of the residents of this building, I suggest you keep walking," the doorman said.

Clint shook his head to pull himself out of the daze he was in. He took a couple steps forward to approach the doorman. "Actually, I'm here to see Natasha Romanoff."

"What business do you have with Miss Romanoff?" the doorman asked inquisitively.

Clint hesitated. The doorman was most likely very suspicious of him right now. He would surely think Clint is a stalker if he told him why he was coming to see her. He barely even knew her. He had a legitimate reason for visiting her but he wasn't sure how creepy it would sound that he had her wallet.

"I, umm, I bumped into her the other day outside of the Met and knocked all of her books and papers out of her hands accidentally. She dropped her wallet and must've forgotten it. I'm just returning it," Clint said, holding up the wallet as evidence.

The doorman nodded. "That's very kind of you. I'll happily deliver it to Miss Romanoff." The doorman held out his hand for Clint to place the wallet in. However, Clint didn't budge. Instead, his grip on the wallet grew tighter.

"If you don't mind, I'd rather give it to her myself. I don't want her to think I'm a horrible person," Clint said.

The doorman stared at him for a couple seconds before gesturing towards the entrance to let Clint pass. Clint took a couple hesitant steps forward as the door man grabbed the door for him and held it open.

"Third floor, apartment 3B," the doorman muttered as Clint walked past him. Clint nodded and stepped into the luxurious lobby of the apartment building. He crossed the lobby to get to the elevators and pressed the button to summon an elevator.

It felt like an eternity until an elevator reached the lobby, but when it did, Clint rushed into the small box and pressed the button for the third floor. The elevator doors closed and it gave a sickening lurch as it was thrust upwards. Clint was suddenly nervous. He wasn't sure how to present himself. Does he tell her that he was sorry for running into her and making her drop her wallet? Does he just blatantly tell her he found her wallet? Does he just hand her the wallet and scram?

He was yanked out of his thoughts when the elevator doors slid open. He stared at the hallway for a second before stepping out of the elevator. There were only four doors in the entire hall but they were spread out with a good amount of wall space between them. Clint slowly and quietly made his way down the hall, checking the first two doors on both sides of him for apartment 3B.

Fortunately, apartment 3B was on his right and he turned to face the door. He stared at the door for a good few minutes before plucking up the courage to knock on the door. He hesitated at first, his fist hovering just a couple inches away from the door, but he eventually loudly rapped on the door three times.

"Stark, I swear to fucking God, I told you I don't want to drink Vlad with you," a voice from the other side of the door said. The door was angrily wrenched open to reveal a fuming Natasha Romanoff. The moment her eyes focused on Clint, her angry demeanor vanished and was replaced with a friendly façade. "Oh hi, sorry. I thought you were someone else. Can I help you?"

"I, uh, I…" Clint stuttered. She was standing right in front of him and he didn't know what to say. So, he just held up her wallet in response.

"Oh my God! You found it! Thank you so much!" she cried happily, snatching the wallet from Clint's hand. "You're the boy I ran into, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me!" she exclaimed.

"Umm, yeah, it was no problem," Clint said. He took in her features, but quicker this time. Her pale porcelain skin. Her red lips which stood out against her pale complexion. Her bright red curly hair. Her curves which were accentuated with a curve hugging ensemble.

"Just, thank you so much, umm…" she trailed off.

"Oh, Clint. Clint Barton," Clint said, holding out his hand for her to shake. Natasha took his hand into hers and they shook hands.

"Natasha. Natasha Romanoff. Thank you, Clint," she said graciously.

Clint nodded his head and then opened his mouth to say something when someone from within the apartment called out Natasha's name. "Natasha, babe, who's at the door?"

Immediately Clint saw Natasha's face fall in disgust as she heard the person make their way to the door. The door was pulled back further to reveal a blonde haired, blue eyed boy who was perfectly dressed in preppy clothing. The watch on his wrist was no doubt expensive and his hair was perfectly coiffed.

Natasha plastered a fake smile on her face as she turned to face the blonde boy. "Alexei, this is Clint. He found my wallet and he was just returning it to me."

"Ah, thank you so much. Natasha's been so worried," the boy named Alexei said. He reached out his hand to offer it up for Clint to shake. "Alexei Shostakov."

Clint took Alexei's hand and shook it. "Clint Barton. It was no problem."

Clint couldn't realize how stupid he had been. Of course a girl as gorgeous as Natasha Romanoff would have a boyfriend. She was from the Upper East Side. She was bound to have a boyfriend that was just as rich as her.

"Well," Alexei said, turning towards Natasha. "Think we should get ready for lunch with my parents?"

Natasha nodded and then turned back to Clint. "Thank you so much, again, for bringing me my wallet."

Clint nodded. Natasha flashed him a small smile before quietly closing the door. The sound of the _snick_ echoed eerily throughout the hallway as Clint stood all by his lonesome, left to deal with how stupid he had been.

* * *

Clint dragged his feet as he made his way out of the apartment building. The doorman politely opened the door for him when he reached the front door. He bid the doorman a good day and started making his way back down Park Avenue to the nearest subway stop.

He shoved his hands into his sweatshirt pockets and hung his head gloomily. He had been stupid to think that he could ask her out. Of course she had a boyfriend. She was from the Upper East Side. Even if he did ask her out, there was no way she would say yes to a boy from Brooklyn. Girls from the Upper East Side didn't date outside of their social class.

"Hey, wait!"

Clint turned around to see Natasha running after him, her curls bouncing with every stride she took. She stopped in front of Clint to catch her breath. "I'm sorry about Alexei. He doesn't know when to keep out of other people's business."

"He's your boyfriend I'm assuming so I guess it's his business too," Clint said with a shrug.

"I'm just…sorry," she said.

"It's okay."

Natasha looked at his for a couple more seconds before handing him a business card. "Ignore the front. It's my dad's business card. My number's on the back. Maybe we can get together some time?"

Clint hesitated to take the card but eventually, he did. He stared at her phone number, written in perfect penmanship, on the back of the card. He pried his eyes away from the phone to look into Natasha's captivating green eyes.

"Yeah, that would be cool," Clint said nonchalantly.

"Great," she said with a smile. "I've got to go but give me a call or text me some time, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Clint said. Natasha flashed Clint one more smile and she headed back up the sidewalk and disappeared back into her building. From where Clint was standing, he could see the doorman to Natasha's building wink and tip his hat at him. Clint chuckled to himself as he continued down Park Avenue, feeling like he was on cloud nine.

* * *

**So Clint returned Natasha her wallet and got her number in the process. But things aren't going to be rainbows and butterflies for this story my dear readers. You guys know I have a penchant for romance, but I also have a knack for twists and turns. So buckle up you guys, it's going to be a bumpy ride. Also, my stories will be updated between Thursdays and Sundays (so weekends) throughout the week for those of you that have alerts for this story and any of my other stories.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are greatly appreciated so please let me know what you think of this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**It's the weekend! Well, almost. For the next couple days, you're gonna be getting updates from me! Hooray! By the way, I love that you guys are loving this story so far. With that said, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Wait three days. That was usually the rule. Call a day early and you seemed desperate. Call a day late and you seemed like an asshole for not calling earlier. Therefore, Clint didn't know what to do. Calling her three days away since getting her number would bring them to Tuesday, which was a school day. He didn't want to bother her during the week because she could be doing her school work. But if he waited to call her over the weekend, it made him seem like a dick that he didn't call her sooner.

Clint decided he would call her Thursday of that week. It was a little later than the three day rule but at least Thursday would be a decent day. It would be nearly the end of the school week and just one day away from the weekend.

However, Clint found it strange that Natasha, a girl with a boyfriend, had been so eager to give him her number. Was this some sort of ploy to embarrass him? Was it going to teach him that you can't talk to people in different social classes?

_No_, he thought to himself. _She seems so much different than all the other girls from the Upper East Side._ He had to remind himself that her face fell the moment her boyfriend, Alexei, came to the door. He could tell she didn't like him. That was obvious.

So why exactly did she want to get to know him? Why did she give him her phone number? There was a possibility that she found him to be a nice guy and wanted to express her gratitude for bringing her wallet back to her over coffee. Maybe she just tried to make friends with every person she met.

Clint pushed those thoughts to the back of his head as he tried to bide his time until Thursday. He knew school would restrain him from calling her but he found his mind wandering. It was even harder when he would get home. It seemed creepy and obsessive that she was all he could think about, but she had made the first move to say the least. She made the choice to give him her number.

Steve, Bruce, and Thor didn't help the matter. Any time Clint was trying to focus on something else, one of his friends would question him on Natasha.

"Is she a bitch?" Bruce would ask.

"How much do you think her family's worth?" Steve would add.

"I bet she's broken all kinds of hearts across Manhattan," Thor would say.

Clint would just hum a response as an attempt to drop the subject but Thor, Steve, and Bruce were always persistent to get information out of Clint about the mysterious Natasha Romanoff. Bringing her up in conversation wasn't really helping Clint take his mind off of her and he tried his hardest to not pay attention to what his friends were asking.

Finally, Thursday rolled around and Clint couldn't wait to get home to call Natasha. He hoped she would remember that she gave him her number. And he especially hoped she would answer the phone when it came up as an unfamiliar number.

However, Clint had to constantly remind himself that he couldn't run home and call her immediately. She had school too and he had to give her time to get home. There was no guarantee that the public school that he went to and the private school that she went to were on similar time schedules.

So when Clint got home, he grabbed a snack to eat to pass the time. When he had finished his snack, he had started to grow impatient. He glanced over at the clock on the wall in the kitchen and saw that he'd only managed to kill five minutes. With a sigh, Clint took a seat at the kitchen table and pulled out his ecology homework. He set a reminder to call Natasha at 4:30 and set to work on his homework.

Before he knew it, his reminder was blaring from his phone and Clint scrambled to turn off the ringer. He hoped 4:30 was a perfect time to call her. It hopefully gave her plenty of time to get home and do some of her homework before dinner.

With a shaky hand, Clint pulled the business card with her number on it out of his backpack and started to dial the number. A couple times his finger slipped and pressed the wrong button so he had to start all over. Eventually, he managed to dial her number successfully. He pressed his phone to his ear and listened to the ringing on the other end. It rang four times before going to voicemail.

_This is Natasha. I'm not available at the moment so leave me a message pretty please? Thank you!_ said the voice on the other end.

_Shit_, Clint thought. He had no plan as to what he would do if she answered. Leaving her a message would seem weird so Clint decided to just hang up.

With a sigh, he put his phone back on the table and returned his attention back to his ecology homework. He hadn't been prepared for her to not answer her phone and trying again within a couple hours, or even a couple days, seemed obsessive. He just had to face the fact that it wasn't meant to be with Natasha Romanoff.

Clint spent the rest of his night in a haze. One by one, his parents and brother returned home for the night and they sat down for their usual family dinner together. As usual, they talked about their days. Mr. and Mrs. Barton both worked for two private schools in Brooklyn while Clint's brother, Barney, took classes at a local community college.

When they had finished dinner, Clint helped his parents clean up before retiring to his bedroom upstairs to finish his homework. As he was working on his homework, Clint couldn't help but check his phone every couple minutes, in hopes that he didn't miss a call from Natasha. He didn't expect her to call him back seeing as she didn't even know it was him who called. However, he still hoped that she called back out of curiosity of who called.

Around nine o'clock, Clint heard his parents shut off their TV and go to bed. Almost an hour later, he heard Barney do the same as well. Clint knew he had to go to bed soon. Whenever he went to bed late, he usually ended up falling asleep in class, especially when they showed videos.

Clint closed his textbooks and notebooks and shoved them back into his backpack. He hopped off of his bed and grabbed a change of clothes from his dresser.

As he was headed to his bedroom door, he heard the familiar buzz of his phone coming from his bed. Clint stopped dead in the doorway and turned around. He stared at his phone, which was situated in the middle of his bed where he was once lying. From the doorway, he couldn't tell who was calling him so he quietly padded back over to his bed and snatched his phone from off of his bed. What he saw, he couldn't believe.

Without hesitation, Clint unlocked the screen to answer the phone. He pressed the phone to his ear and opened his mouth to say something when the caller on the other end interrupted him.

"I was wondering when you were going to call me."

Clint felt a smile spread across his face. That simple statement was practically teasing him. However, Clint had to remind himself that she had a boyfriend. She probably just wants to hang out and talk over coffee as friends. There was no chance of her leaving her boyfriend from the Upper East Side for a boy from Brooklyn.

"I was starting to think you forgot about me," she said.

"Forget about you?" Clint asked teasingly. "I couldn't forget about you." The moment the words left his mouth, he slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead. It was too flirtatious.

Clint heard her giggle from the other end and breathed a sigh of relief. At least she thought it was funny. "I'm sorry I didn't answer the phone earlier," she said apologetically. "I was at ballet rehearsal."

_Ballet rehearsal?_ Clint thought. _God, this girl is incredible!_ Clint shook that thought from his mind as he returned his attention to the conversation. "That's okay," he said. "I was going to call back in a couple of days." It was a complete lie but he wanted to seem like he was going to try again to call her.

"No you weren't," she said confidently. Clint gulped out of nervousness and heard her giggle from the other end. "I figured I should call back since I knew _you_ wouldn't."

Clint let out an awkward laugh as Natasha pressed on. "So I'm assuming you want to hang out," she stated.

"Umm, yeah I guess."

"Don't sound so unsure of yourself. Just say it. You want to hang out with me."

She'd said it so confidently that Clint was taken aback by it. He hesitated to answer her. Yes, he wanted to hang out with her. That was the reason he had called in the first place, but now that he was actually talking to her and she was offering to hang out with him, he didn't know what to say.

"Are you still there?" she asked from the other end.

"Yeah, yeah, I am. Umm, yeah, let's hang out," Clint said nonchalantly.

Clint heard her giggle again. "Alright, how about the Cornelia Street Café Saturday morning? It's all the way down in The Village but they have the best brunch."

"Y-yeah," Clint stammered. He couldn't believe she was actually agreeing to have breakfast with him. Sure the place they were going to was most likely super expensive and his train ride into Manhattan was bound to cost him a pretty penny, but it would be worth it.

"Great. Say about eleven o'clock then?" she asked.

"That's good for me," Clint said.

"Okay, I'll see you Saturday morning then." The excitement in her voice was undeniable.

"Yeah, see you Saturday morning," Clint agreed. Clint and Natasha said goodnight to one another and Clint ended the call. He tossed his phone onto his bed and then collapsed on top of the covers. Staring at his ceiling, he chuckled to himself as he realized that he was finally going to get to know the girl that had absolutely fascinated him for the past several days.

* * *

Clint awkwardly stood in front of the Cornelia Street Café. He felt so out of place here with the sharply dressed men and the fashionable women. He was fifteen minutes early. He left early to make sure he could find the place. It turned out there was a subway stop just a couple blocks away from the café so he had arrived sooner than expected. Now, he wasn't quite sure how to kill fifteen minutes.

Clint leaned up against one of the buildings and began to play around with his phone. As soon as he opened up one of the apps, his mind started to drift. Every time he opened his mouth around Natasha, he never knew what to say, so he couldn't believe he was actually going to have breakfast with her. This actually meant having a conversation with her. He didn't quite know what to talk about. He didn't know anything about her – aside from what he learned about her from her wallet – and she didn't know anything about him. Clint could actually sense that it was going to be awkward from the get go.

Clint was ripped from his thoughts when he heard a car door slam and the sound of heels clacking against the sidewalk. He looked up to see Natasha making a bee-line right for him. He took in the sight of her so that when she reached him, he wouldn't be staring. Her red curls were pinned up on one side with a jeweled pin. She wore a black pea coat that hugged her body and a short black skirt that hit really high on her thighs. Her legs were covered with a pair of dark tights and she wore a pair of black Mary Jane heels that elongated her legs.

"Hi Clint," Natasha greeted him. "You haven't been waiting long have you?"

Clint shook his head and muttered a no as he shoved his phone back into his sweatshirt pocket. "Okay good," Natasha said. "Traffic was a bitch. Let's go inside and get a table. It's kind of cold out here."

Clint nodded and followed her to the entrance of the café. When she went to reach for the door, Clint quickly reached forward to hold the door open for her. She turned to face him and offered him a hint of a smile before stepping into the café. He followed her to a small table in the middle of the café and they sat down.

Immediately, a waitress came and took their order for drinks. The waitress walked away to get their drinks and give them time to look at the menu. By the time she came back, Clint and Natasha were ready to order. They placed their orders with their waitress, handed her the menus, and watched her walk away.

"Thank you again for bringing my wallet to me," Natasha said as she leaned forward.

"Oh it was no problem," Clint said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It was my fault you dropped it anyways."

"We're in New York. It happens," she said. "I was just surprised all of my stuff was still in there. Anyone else would've taken the credit cards and just given me the wallet back."

"I didn't have any use for your credit cards so I figured you deserved to get them back," Clint said.

Natasha giggled at his response. "Well, I'm glad you made the right choice. My parents would've killed me."

"Yeah, can't have that happen," Clint said. Every time he opened his mouth, he wanted to slap himself in the face. Why couldn't he talk to her like a normal person?

"So, you're from Brooklyn right?" Natasha asked eagerly.

"Yeah…wait, how do you know I'm from Brooklyn?" Clint asked.

"The school bus you were standing by the day you were at the museum, it said Bedford Academy on the side of it. I remember passing by that school during a school trip when I was little," she explained.

"Ah," was all Clint said.

"So, do you like living in Brooklyn?" she asked.

Clint was taken aback. All this time he thought he was being weird and obsessive even though he barely knew her, and yet, here she was asking for information about his life. Not that he minded, but he didn't quite expect her to take an interest in him, especially since she had a boyfriend.

"Umm, yeah it's nice. I've lived there all my life so…" he trailed off.

Natasha nodded and relaxed back against her chair. "I know it seems like I'm prying but…" she trailed off as she gathered her thoughts. "You just seem so much different than all the other guys I've ever met."

"Really? How so?" Clint asked. He couldn't wait to hear what she had to say.

"Well, I already mentioned that you didn't take my credit cards and scram," she said with a giggle. Clint nodded and motioned for her to continue. "But there was also the way you looked at me that day. It wasn't in a creepy and perverted sort of way – well, actually, yes it kind of was."

Clint chuckled and for the first time since they sat down at the café, he cracked a smile. He had been so on edge about having breakfast with her, but now he was finding that she was a very easy-going person. "Sorry," he said apologetically. "I didn't mean to come off like that."

Natasha shook her head. "It's okay because even though you kind of looked at me like that, you were mostly looking at me differently than most guys would."

Clint was about to open his mouth to ask her what she meant by that when their waitress came to their table to deliver their food. Clint wasn't quite sure what to think, how to feel about Natasha's confession. Did she want to be friends? Was she flirting with him?

As subtle as he could, Clint glanced up at Natasha from across the table. He was startled when his eyes connected with her green ones. They held each other's gaze for a couple seconds before Natasha smirked and then turned her attention back to her food.

Clint did the same as he smiled to himself. He could tell this was going to be the beginning of an interesting relationship.

* * *

**Think sparks are flying between them? I said in the last update that this isn't going to be rainbows and butterflies like my other stories and I can tell you already that the next chapter is crazy. I'm actually almost done with chapter 5 and I'm going to keep going throughout the entire weekend, but don't expect more than one update a day for this story.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please let me know what you thought of this chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

**So, I'm not so sure you guys are going to like me after this chapter (even though I have chapter 5 written and I know that you guys will like that). So why exactly won't you like me? Well, you'll see. Enjoy!**

* * *

"So what exactly was your goal in hanging out with me today, Mr. Barton?"

They were walking on the sidewalk through the campus of New York University and Washington Square Park was up ahead. When they had finished breakfast – which Natasha graciously decided to pay for as a reward for Clint bringing her wallet back to her – they had decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. They had engaged in small talk about the weather, school, and the city but now it seemed as if Natasha was taking the conversation in another direction.

Clint turned to face Natasha and he stared at her blankly. "W-what do you mean?"

"Come on, I'm not stupid. I know you like me," she said tauntingly.

Clint shook his head.

"Don't lie to me," she shot back.

Her confidence was overwhelming. Yes, he liked her, but she had a boyfriend and Clint most certainly didn't expect her to leave her boyfriend for him. It just wouldn't make sense. Clint was attractive but he looked like your average boy you passed by on the sidewalk. It's not like he turned heads or anything. He had a great personality when he used it and he could be charming if he wanted to be. But Natasha was completely out of his league.

"Okay," he said. "So maybe I do but it's not like you can do anything about it anyways since you have a boyfriend."

Natasha's face fell at the mention of the word "boyfriend." There it was, the sign that let Clint know that she didn't care for her boyfriend. He had seen it the day he brought her wallet back to her, when her boyfriend had interrupted them.

Natasha bowed her head and stared at the ground. Clint hadn't even realized they had stopped walking. "I don't know," Natasha muttered. "He's a bit of an ass. He tries to buy my love too by giving me expensive stuff but my parents love him to death so…"

"Well that…sucks," Clint said.

"What does? The fact that he's an ass and tries to buy my love or that my parents adore him?" Natasha asked.

"All of it."

Natasha lifted her head and looked at Clint, shooting him a small smile. Clint was right. She was much different than all the other girls from the Upper East Side. Any other girl would just put up and shut up about their pompous, rich boyfriend, but not Natasha. Instead, she chose to tell Clint, a boy she barely knew, about how she didn't particularly care about her boyfriend.

"Just…I don't know. My parents really like him so I feel like breaking up with him wouldn't make them very happy," Natasha said, shrugging her shoulders.

"But would it make _you_ happy?" Clint inquired. He knew he'd gone too far. His feelings for her were already getting in the way. It wasn't his business whether she broke up with her boyfriend or not. It wasn't his business what she did in her personal life.

Natasha shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe."

"I'm not telling you what to do, but if you're not happy, you should…work it out," Clint said. He didn't want to tell her to break up with her boyfriend, mostly because it wasn't his place to tell her what she should and shouldn't do. Then again, it wasn't his place to give her any sort of orders.

Clint could see Natasha soaking in what Clint had just said. Eventually, she nodded in approval. "You're right. I really should talk to Alexei and my parents. Maybe that will make things better."

Clint hummed his response and then nodded. As much as he wanted her to end things with her boyfriend so he could ask her out on a proper date, he didn't want to cause trouble. He barely knew her, and he didn't even know her family. There was no telling how they'd react if they found out Clint was the one who caused a shake up between Natasha and her boyfriend.

Natasha opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing from her purse. She fumbled with the flap of her black bag and pulled out her phone. She checked the caller ID to see who was calling and then answered it by sliding her finger across the screen.

"Hi Mom," Natasha sighed. There was silence as Natasha listened to her mother on the other end. "Yeah, I'm just down in The Village. I was having breakfast with a friend."

Clint buried his hands into his coat pockets and glanced down at the sidewalk. He tuned out the conversation Natasha was having with her mom; he didn't want to seem like he was snooping.

"Dinner sounds great," Natasha said unenthusiastically. "Tell Alexei and his parents that's fine, but I've got to go. I'll be home soon. Bye!"

Natasha tossed her phone back into her bag and sighed. She looked back at Clint, who was staring at the ground and shifting back and forth from one foot to the other absentmindedly.

"I'm sorry about that," she said. "Alexei wants to have my parents and I over for some sort of dinner."

"It's okay," Clint said with a shrug.

"I've got to go. My mom's expecting me but…stay in touch, okay?" she asked eagerly. "And we should…do this again sometime."

Clint only nodded in response, but on the inside, he was freaking out. He could tell just by the sound of her voice that she really did want to hang out again. There was no chance of them ever dating – Clint was sure of that – but maybe there was a possibility of them being friends.

"Okay," she said with a smile. "I guess…I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, definitely," Clint choked out.

Natasha giggled as she brushed past Clint and walked to the edge of the sidewalk to hail a cab. Immediately, a taxi pulled up to the curb to offer Natasha a ride. She opened up the back door and then turned back to Clint. She waved at him before ducking into the cab and shutting the door.

Clint watched as her taxi sped off down the road and disappeared around the corner before he actually started making his way to the subway for his trek home. Maybe she really did want to be friends, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. Two people from two totally different social classes could be friends, right? Clint just hoped his feelings for her didn't ruin everything and get in the way.

* * *

Later that night, after Clint had had dinner, he ventured out to the garage behind the house. Clint's dad was working on his father's Corvette from the seventies. When Mr. Barton's father had died a few months ago, he didn't leave much for any of his children, but there was one thing that they all coveted: his 1973 white Chevrolet Corvette. Unfortunately, the car was old and broken down and Clint's father was the only one out of all of his siblings that knew anything about cars so his father had left the car to him.

Clint could see the light on in the garage and he traipsed through their miniscule backyard to the run down structure. He pushed open the door and saw his dad's legs sticking out from underneath the front end of the Corvette. There was creaking and banging as his father fiddled around with the undercarriage.

Ever since Clint had gotten home from breakfast with Natasha, he hadn't been able to get her out of his head. That was normal for Clint, but the fact that she wasn't happy with her boyfriend because her parents adored him was what was bothering Clint. He wanted to help her, but he didn't want to meddle. He just wanted to give her some advice, and to do that, he needed advice himself.

Clint's parents weren't one to pry in their sons' lives. If something was bothering Clint or Barney, their parents were observant enough to know that something was going on but they chose to wait for their sons to come to them. And they always did. As school teachers, they would provide their sons with the best advice they could give them and send them on their way.

However, Clint wasn't quite sure how to approach his dad about a situation that wasn't even his. His dad didn't even know about Natasha either. He wanted to keep it vague as to whom he was talking about, but at the same time, Clint felt like his father needed to know about Natasha.

For a couple more minutes, Clint stood in the doorway of the garage as he contemplated as to how he was going to explain this to his dad. When he was ready, Clint took a deep breath and called out to get his dad's attention. There was a _bang_ and a _clang_ as Clint heard the wrench fall on the floor. Mr. Barton pushed himself out from underneath the car and rubbed his head where he had no doubt banged it against a part of the car.

"Sorry," Clint mumbled.

"It's alright," Mr. Barton said. "What's going on, Clint?"

"Can I talk to you for a couple minutes?"

"Sure," Mr. Barton said as he pushed himself off of the ground. "I was going to take a break anyways." Mr. Barton made his way over to a cooler in the corner of the garage and opened it to grab two cans of cold beer. He walked back over to Clint and offered him one of the cans, to which Clint nervously declined.

"I know you drink with your friends so just take the beer and don't tell your mother," Mr. Barton ordered. Clint took the beer and cracked it open. His father did the same and they both took long swigs from their respective cans.

"So what's on your mind?" Mr. Barton asked.

"It's kind of a complicated and long story," Clint said uneasily.

"So start from the beginning," his father said with a shrug of the shoulders.

Clint took a deep breath and released it. At this point, Clint was glad he had decided to talk to his dad about this. If he had chosen to talk to his mother about this, she would've been judging him from the get go.

So Clint launched into the story about how he had knocked Natasha's books out of her hands and she had left her wallet behind. His parents never knew where Clint had went last Saturday and earlier in the day as well, so Clint had to explain that as well. When Clint started to explain Natasha's dilemma with her boyfriend, he wasn't quite sure how he came off. Did he sound jealous? Angry? Annoyed?

When Clint had finished his spiel, Mr. Barton took another long swig from his beer and said, "The Upper East Side, huh?"

"Dad, that's not the point. She's actually really nice, and she's not like the rest of the snooty rich girls from the Upper East Side," Clint whined.

"I'm just saying," Mr. Barton said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Hey, this is like that show, umm, what it is? Oh _The Gossip Girls_."

"You mean _Gossip Girl_, Dad?" Clint corrected.

"Yeah."

"Don't tell me your guilty pleasure is _Gossip Girl_," Clint said with an arch of his eyebrow.

Mr. Barton stared at his son blankly before taking another swig of beer. He wiped his face with the back of his hand when he had finished and said, "That stays between us, you understand?"

Clint snorted a laugh but stopped when he saw the dirty look his dad was giving him. "So you like this girl," his dad said as he walked over to the cooler to get another beer.

"What? I never said that!" Clint retorted defensively.

"Clint, it's all over your face. When you talk about her, the adoration is undeniable," Mr. Barton said matter-of-factly.

Clint shook his head in disbelief that his dad had figured him out. "Okay, so I am but she has a boyfriend, remember? Just because I told her to work it out doesn't mean she's going to break it off with him."

Mr. Barton scoffed and waved off Clint's comment. "Those Upper East Siders, they go through boyfriends and girlfriends like we go through beer on a Saturday night." Mr. Barton held up his can of beer in response before taking another long swig from it to finish it off. Clint chuckled at his father's immaturity as he watched him go grab another beer from the cooler.

"Just trust me. She'll end things soon," Mr. Barton said.

"That doesn't mean she's going to come running into my arms. We barely know each other!" Clint exclaimed.

"That doesn't matter. From what you've told me, she's just as smitten with you as you are with her," Mr. Barton pointed out.

Clint was taken aback by that response. "What? No she's not!"

"What girl with a boyfriend asks a boy she just met to keep in touch with her and hope that they'll hang out again?" Mr. Barton asked.

Clint just shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Trust me Clint. She likes you," Mr. Barton said. He took another swig of beer to finish off his third beer. "Oh, this is _just_ like _Gossip Girl_. You're Dan Humphrey from Brooklyn and she's Serena from the Upper East Side!"

"Seriously Dad?" Clint whined.

"Would you guys prefer to be compared to Chuck and Blair?" Mr. Barton asked.

"Okay, I'm out of here. Thanks for the chat!" Clint walked out of the garage, finished off his beer, and chucked the empty can into the trash can. He wasn't supposed to tell his mom he had been drinking beer with his dad, but his mom always had a way of knowing these sorts of things. So Clint braced himself as he walked in the back door and hoped she couldn't smell the beer beginning to leak through his pores.

* * *

"Natasha, darling, what's the hold up?" Mrs. Romanoff called from down the hall. Natasha stood in her walk-in closet in just a matching bra and underwear set. She was staring at the racks of clothes, unsure of what to wear.

"I can't decide on what to wear!" Natasha called back. She heard the _click-clack_ of her mother's heels coming up the hallway and before she knew it, she was standing in the closet next to Natasha.

They stared absentmindedly at the racks of clothes together before Natasha's mother stepped forward and pulled a silver dress from the rack. Mrs. Romanoff handed the dress to Natasha and walked out of the closet. "Don't you dare think about putting on a different dress! Put that on and let's go! We're already late!" her mother called from her bedroom.

Natasha sighed as she slipped on the silver dress. The moment she had gotten home from breakfast with Clint, a wave of sadness had hit her. Returning to the Upper East Side was like returning to a life she didn't belong in. She liked having expensive things and fashionable clothing, but her parents were extremely demanding and Alexei was a pain in her ass. Hanging out with Clint had made her forget the troubles of her complicated life.

Natasha adjusted the dress to her liking and walked out into her bedroom to show her mother. Her mother cooed with delight the moment she saw Natasha and then instantly started gathering up Natasha's things to be thrown into a clutch. Natasha just shook her head as her mother gathered up her things and then handed her the clutch.

Her mother beckoned for Natasha to follow her and they made their way to the foyer of their apartment to meet up with Natasha's father. He was already in his coat and he looked irritated. Natasha muttered an apology for keeping him waiting and slipped on her coat. When they were all bundled up and ready to go, they took the elevator to the lobby and Mr. Romanoff went outside to hail a cab. When a taxi had pulled up to the curb, the Romanoff family squeezed into the back seat and headed to Alexei's family's apartment on Fifth Avenue.

Natasha despised Alexei's parents more than she despised Alexei himself. Alexei's parents acted like they were the king and queen of the Upper East Side. They acted like they deserved the best and they always made it seem like they were better than the Romanoffs because they lived on Fifth Avenue while the Romanoffs lived on Park.

Before Natasha knew it, their cab had pulled up to the curb outside of the building where Alexei and his family lived. Mr. Romanoff paid the driver and slid out of the taxi to join the rest of his family. They made their way into the lobby of the apartment building and loaded onto the elevator to take them to the Shostakov penthouse.

The elevator shot upwards as the Romanoffs rode in silence. Before they knew it, they were arriving at the penthouse and being greeted by Alexei and his parents. Mrs. Romanoff and Mrs. Shostakov pecked each other on the cheeks while Mr. Romanoff and Mr. Shostakov shook each other's hands.

Alexei greeted Natasha in his own way by kissing her passionately on the lips. Well, passionate in Alexei's eyes. Anytime Alexei kissed her, she felt like washing her mouth out with soap, throwing up, and then washing her mouth out with soap again. Plus, the passion just wasn't there for Natasha so it was just so incredibly uncomfortable for her.

"Hey, save it for later, you two!" Mr. Shostakov joked when Alexei had kissed Natasha. Natasha pushed away from Alexei and he pulled her back close to him, snaking an arm around her waist. Mr. and Mrs. Shostakov shepherded their guests into the dining room to start dinner.

Natasha took a seat at the table as Alexei sat down in the seat next to her. Mr. and Mrs. Romanoff took their seats on the opposite side of the table as Natasha and Alexei while Mr. and Mrs. Shostakov each took a place at the ends of the table.

The table was covered in food for the dinner and Mr. and Mrs. Shostakov immediately told everyone to help themselves. The Romanoffs and Shostakovs piled food onto their plates. As they ate, Mr. Romanoff and Mr. Shostakov made small talk about the economy while Mrs. Romanoff and Mrs. Shostakov chatted about their likes and dislikes from New York Fashion Week a couple weeks ago.

Natasha ate in silence and only hummed her responses or gave one word answers as Alexei tried to make small talk with her as well. That was another thing about her and Alexei. They had absolutely nothing in common. Every time they tried to talk about something, they never exactly saw eye to eye.

As they finished off their dinner, the maids that worked for the Shostakovs came in and cleared off the table of the dinner dishes and serving trays, leaving the table nearly bare with the exception of the placemats and some silverware. Within minutes, the maids had returned with dessert and placed a plate in front of each of the dinner guests.

The Romanoffs and Shostakovs savored their dessert and when they had finished, they began to make small talk once again.

"So, Natasha, how are things going for your ballet recital? Are you practicing?" Mr. Shostakov asked.

"Yes, everything's going well. I just hope everyone else is working just as hard," Natasha said as she smoothed out the cloth napkin in her lap.

"I bet they are. You ballerinas are always such hard workers," Mr. Shostakov said.

"What production are you dancing in Natasha?" Mrs. Shostakov asked from the other end of the table.

"Oh, we're doing _Swan Lake_ of course. We always do that instead of the traditional _Nutcracker_ for the holiday production," Natasha said with a fake smile.

"Natasha got the role of the Swan Queen this year," Alexei bragged as he snaked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him.

"Well of course she did!" Mrs. Shostakov exclaimed. "She is one of the best."

"Speaking of the best…" Alexei trailed off as he turned to face Natasha. "Natasha, you are quite possibly one of the greatest people I've ever met."

"Okay Alexei, love, no need to get sappy," Natasha said.

"I just wanted to let you know that we were meant for each other. I'm so glad we met. I don't know what I would do if we hadn't," Alexei said. Natasha arched an eyebrow in confusion as Alexei continued. "We are perfect for one another so…"

Alexei had gotten up and pushed the chair away from the table only to get down on one knee. "Natasha, I am so happy to call you my girlfriend but," he paused as he pulled out a small, red Cartier box, "I would be even happier to call you my wife." Alexei pulled open the lid to the box to reveal a stunning diamond ring.

Natasha's jaw dropped but it wasn't for the reason the rest of the dinner guests believed. She couldn't believe Alexei, her boyfriend that she absolutely despised, was proposing to her in front of his and her parents. The problem was how could she say no when her parents were practically nodding their heads in agreement from the other side of the table? Her parents _wanted_ her to marry him. She was only seventeen and they were willing to let her marry him.

Natasha glanced around at her tablemates as they smiled and egged her on to accept Alexei's proposal. The only problem was that Natasha hated Alexei. However, she turned back to Alexei, put on her fake surprised face again, and gave Alexei her response.

Yes.

Alexei's face broke out into a wide grin as he jumped up and slipped the expensive ring on her finger. He planted a kiss on her lips as their parents broke out into cheers. When he broke away from her, he quickly enveloped her in a tight embrace.

On the outside, Natasha looked excited as could be. But on the inside, she couldn't help but wonder how much of a bigger hole she had dug for herself.

* * *

**Umm, yeah so how many of you hate me? Show of hands? Like I said, it's going to be full of drama. I also already have chapter 5 written and there is tons of Clintasha interaction. I will tell you that much.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so let me know what you guys thought of this chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, you guys can breathe a little easier now. There's so much Clintasha interaction that you'll be saying "Alexei who?" Haha, I'm lame. But anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Clint awoke to the sound of his phone softly ringing on his bedside table. He rolled over with a groan and checked the time on his alarm clock. It was barely seven o'clock in morning. He swiped his phone from the bedside table and checked the caller ID. He was surprised when he saw that it was Natasha. He slid his finger across the screen and pressed the phone to his ear.

He hadn't even opened his mouth when Natasha started rambling. "I fucked up," she said. "I fucked up big time."

Clint pushed himself into an upright position with a groan. "What? Did you call the right number?" In his half-asleep haze, he was pretty convinced she meant to call one of her friends instead of Clint.

"No Clint. I'm calling you because I need to talk. I fucked up big time and I need someone to talk to," Natasha said.

"Okay, so talk. I'm all ears," Clint mumbled.

"Not over the phone," she snapped. "Can you meet me?"

Clint sighed. He was tired but clearly something was wrong and she needed someone to talk to. "Yeah, I can meet you. Where?"

"Washington Square Park, and hurry!" she ordered.

"Okay, okay," Clint groaned as he heard her hang up the phone. He sleepily gazed over at his alarm clock, which switched over to seven o'clock as soon as he glanced at it. He groaned once again out of annoyance as he stumbled out of bed to get ready for another trek to Manhattan.

* * *

Clint spotted her pacing by the fountain when he reached the park. Her coat was hanging open to reveal a silver dress. Her curls were hanging loosely as if the hairspray that had held them together was wearing off. As he approached her, he could see she was smoking a cigarette and some of her makeup was smeared across her face.

"Shit, who died?" Clint asked teasingly as he approached her.

Natasha whipped around to face Clint. She frantically tossed the cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out with the toe of her shoe. "Good, you're here."

"What's so important that I had to get up and come to Manhattan before ten o'clock?" he asked.

Natasha drew in a deep breath and then let it out with a _whoosh_. "I fucked up."

"Yeah, I know. You said that about 300 times on the phone," Clint said.

"Don't be a smart ass," Natasha snarled. "Just…it's bad."

"What do you mean? You didn't like kill anyone did you?" Clint asked.

"No, I didn't kill anyone, dipshit. I just…ah, fuck!" she exclaimed. She reached for the pack of cigarettes from on top of her clutch and fumbled to pull one out. Clint hastily grabbed the pack of cigarettes from her, much to her dismay. "Give them back!"

"No. Not until you tell me why I had to trek all the way to Manhattan. I didn't come here just to watch you smoke cigarettes," Clint said.

"Fine," she snapped. She reached for her clutch and rooted around in it before pulling out a small object. She held it up for Clint between her thumb and forefinger. It was a ring. A diamond ring. A diamond _engagement_ ring.

"What the fuck?" Clint muttered as he delicately grabbed the ring from between her fingers and put it between his own to examine it.

"Yeah, I know, right?" she said frantically. "I said yes. I fucking said yes, when I wanted to say no."

"So why didn't you?" Clint asked, his focus still on the ring.

"I panicked. His parents were watching. My parents were watching and I panicked. I felt obligated to say yes," she said, a little calmer now. She sighed as she sat down on the edge of the fountain. She rested her elbows on her knees and placed her head in her hands.

Clint tore his gaze away from the ring and realized what this meant. She was engaged. She was going to get married. There would be absolutely no chance for Clint to ask her out in the future.

As he let the information sink in, he realized that she didn't want to marry Alexei. She had wanted to say no, but due to the pressure from her parents and Alexei's parents, she had said yes. She was now doomed to a life of unhappiness with a guy she didn't even remotely like.

Clint sighed as he sat down next to Natasha. He didn't know what to say to her. She had gotten herself into this predicament so he wasn't quite sure what she was so upset about. So she had been under pressure to say yes. Fine, but there were tons of instances of the bride-to-be having seconds thoughts before the wedding even happened and the engagement was broken off. Maybe there was still hope.

"Can we get out of here?" Natasha suddenly asked.

"Get out of here?" Clint asked, confused.

"Yeah, I need to get out of Manhattan. I feel like I'm suffocating," she said.

"Yeah okay, but wait, where do your parents and Alexei think you are?" Clint said.

"Hanging out with some friends, celebrating the engagement. I told them I'd be gone for the rest of last night and all day today. Instead, I've been here ever since I left Alexei's," Natasha said.

Clint shook his head. "You've been _here_ all night?"

"It's not like I would've been able to sleep anyways with all that was on my mind," Natasha said with a shrug.

"Alright," Clint sighed. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere," she breathed. "Anywhere but here. Anywhere but Manhattan. I'll go to fucking Iowa if that's where you'll take me."

Clint chuckled. "No, we won't go to Iowa, but how about Coney Island?" Natasha wrinkled her nose in disgust and Clint was taken aback. "Don't tell me you've never been to Coney Island."

"I'm from the Upper East Side, Clint. We don't go to Coney Island. We go to the Hamptons," Natasha shot back.

Clint chuckled again. "Hey, you said anywhere."

"Okay fine," Natasha sighed. She started to gather up her belongings and then stood up, turning to face Clint. "Well, are we going or what?"

"Yeah," Clint said as he got up from his perch at the edge of the fountain. He started to head towards the nearest subway station when Natasha stopped dead at the edge of the sidewalk and hailed a cab. Clint looked at her uneasily as she opened the back door to the cab.

"Come on," she said.

"Umm, I can't afford a cab to Coney Island," Clint said.

Natasha blinked blankly at Clint before waving him over. "Just get in the damn car."

* * *

They sat in the sand just a couple feet away from where the water washed ashore. When they had reached where they wanted to sit, Clint had taken off his sweatshirt and set it down in the sand so Natasha didn't ruin her dress. She had looked at him like he was an idiot for doing it, but eventually sat down on the sweatshirt.

Clint took a seat next to Natasha and they sat in silence as they watched the waves roll in and out. The beach wasn't very crowded since it wasn't summertime, so Clint and Natasha basically had the beach to themselves.

They both sat in silence for a couple of minutes, mulling over the events from the past several hours. For someone who despised Alexei, Clint wasn't sure why Natasha had said yes. Pressure from her parents and Alexei's parents was a somewhat valid reason, but she had a choice. Everyone has a choice.

"I'm too young to get married," Natasha finally said after several minutes of silence. "I'm turning eighteen in January and I'm in the midst of filling out college applications. I have better things to live for."

"I still don't understand why you said yes," Clint said.

Natasha bowed her head and kept her eyes trained on her hands in her lap. "I panicked. I got scared. I didn't know what my family would've done to me if I'd said no. They probably would've kicked me out of the house or something and cut me off."

"That's not fair," Clint said. "And what kind of parents would want their underage daughter to get married?"

"My parents. Alexei's parents," Natasha said with her eyes still focused on her lap. Clint scoffed as he turned his attention back to the surf. "That's the Upper East Side for you."

Clint was angry, but he wasn't sure who he should be angry with. There was Alexei for being the guy that she was betrothed to. There was Alexei and Natasha's parents for encouraging her to become engaged to Alexei. Then, there was Natasha. She had a right to say no, and she chose to say yes against her wishes just so she could please her parents. He was angry that she had succumbed to the pressure.

For the most part, he was angry because there would be no possible chance of him asking her out. After his talk with his dad last night, he had been so confident that she would break things off with Alexei but as it turns out, everything had backfired.

As Clint quickly looked around at his surroundings, he suddenly had an idea. There was no guarantee it would work and it was potentially very risky but he was going to try it. He was going to try to win her over. There was no doubt for Clint that it was going to be a tricky feat but maybe he could manage to change her mind by doing so.

Clint got up and brushed the sand off of him as Natasha continued to stare out at the waves. "Get up. We're going to my house."

Natasha looked up at Clint and wrinkled her nose. "Why?"

"Because we're not going to sit here like two depressed and brooding teenagers," Clint said with a chuckle. "And don't make that face. There's nothing wrong with my house." Clint held out his hand to pull her up. She stared at it for a couple seconds before taking hold and letting him pull her to a standing position.

Clint grabbed his sweatshirt from the ground and shook the sand from it. When he finished, he beckoned for Natasha to follow him. Hesitantly, she watched as he started walking towards the boardwalk before jogging to catch up with him.

* * *

"Welcome to chez Barton," Clint announced when they walked in the front door of his house. It really wasn't much to show her but maybe bringing her to his house was the first step to winning her over. Clint and his family lived in a two bedroom house with its usual kitchen, living room, and bathroom that the family shared. Before Clint and Barney were born, Clint's parents had renovated the attic to make it into a third bedroom. After a much heated argument between Clint and Barney a few years back, Clint had won the privacy of the third bedroom.

"This is it?" Natasha asked.

"Well, there's the second floor and the attic which is where my bedroom is," Clint explained.

"You live in the attic?" Natasha asked, her eyes widening with shock.

Clint chuckled. "Yeah, but it's renovated. Come on, I'll show you." Clint beckoned for her to follow her up the stairs. She hesitated at first but followed him anyways. When they reached the top of the stairs, Clint walked over to a door in the hallway and opened it, revealing a set of stairs.

Natasha wrinkled her nose in disgust as Clint disappeared through the door, but she followed him anyways. The stairs creaked underneath their weight and Natasha hoped she didn't fall through. They approached another door at the top of the stairs and Clint turned the knob and pushed it open. He gestured for her to go first and she stepped into the vast room.

It really wasn't so bad. It was pretty roomy in fact. Natasha strode into the room and glanced around. There were two chests of drawers to her right with a large flat screen TV situated on top of one of them. There was a DVD player and an Xbox that were set on each side of the TV while cords for the controllers to the Xbox dangled off the edge of the dresser in a tangled mess. There was a desk over at the far end of the room that overlooked the street. In front of Natasha was Clint's unkempt bed which was a mess of tangled blankets and covers.

"This is actually pretty impressive. I bet you have tons of privacy," Natasha said as she sat down on Clint's bed.

"Yeah, kind of. Sound travels pretty easily because of the vents so I usually hear when my parents or Barney are awake and the floor creaks so they can hear when I'm awake too, but other than that, it's just me up here," Clint explained with a nonchalant shrug.

"I bet you bring tons of girls up here," she said. There was almost a hint of disappointment in her voice.

Clint felt a smile tugging at his lips. "Not really. Like I said, sound travels."

A distant slamming of a door let Clint know that someone had come home. It had to be one of his parents because it was way too early for Barney to be stumbling home. He would most likely be suffering from a hangover as per usual.

"Clint, honey, are you awake?" Clint's mother called as he heard her coming up the stairs to the second floor. Apparently she hadn't even heard him leave that morning. Despite sound traveling in their house, Clint's mom usually drifted in and out of being a light sleeper and a deep sleeper. Apparently this morning, she had chosen to be a deep sleeper.

"Yeah, I'm awake!" Clint called back. He almost wished he didn't respond because he heard her coming up the set of stairs to his room.

"Could you help me with the – oh hello," Mrs. Barton said when she entered the room and noticed Natasha sitting on Clint's bed. Clint's gaze immediately flicked over to the Natasha and he saw her put on her sweetest smile and get up to shake Mrs. Barton's hand.

"Hi, I'm Natasha," Natasha said politely. She held out her hand for Mrs. Barton to shake and Mrs. Barton politely took it.

"Clint, you didn't tell me you had a friend over," Mrs. Barton said.

"I didn't think I had to tell you," Clint said. Clint knew what his mom was assuming, and Clint wasn't going to address that with Natasha around. He was most likely going to get an earful later on.

"I just…I would've cleaned up so she didn't have to see what a pigsty this place is," Mrs. Barton said.

"Oh, it's nothing," Natasha said, waving off Mrs. Barton's comment. "You have such a nice home."

"Why thank you, Natasha!" Mrs. Barton exclaimed. Clint knew that tone with his mother; it meant that Natasha had gotten her seal of approval by complimenting her pigsty of a home. "I'll leave you two alone. Let me know if you need anything!"

Mrs. Barton retreated down the stairs and Clint immediately scrambled to shut his door. He heard Natasha giggle from behind him and he turned around to see her sitting on his bed again.

"Sorry about that," Clint sighed.

"It's okay. Your mother's very sweet," Natasha said.

Clint smiled and walked over to his bed to sit down next to Natasha. "Yeah, well, if you like my mom, you'd love my dad."

Natasha tilted her head to the side and smirked. "Is this the part in our relationship where you introduce me to your parents?"

Clint snorted a laugh. "Relationship?" He knew it was a joke, but Clint couldn't help but take it seriously. She may be engaged to someone she hated, but she had been flirting with him from the get go. From Clint's point of view, there was still hope.

"Yeah, relationship," she said with a sly smirk.

Almost as if on cue, Clint heard the front door slam again and the sound of his father's voice travel through the vents. Clint turned to Natasha and smirked. "So…meet the parents?"

Natasha rolled her eyes and stood up from the bed. "If I must," she said with a giggle.

Clint stood up. He headed out of his bedroom with Natasha on his heels. They headed down both sets of steps and headed into the kitchen. Mr. Barton was seated at the kitchen table, hidden behind the Sunday newspaper. He was muttering to himself like he always did when he read the paper.

"Hey, umm, Dad?" Clint said as he tried to grab his dad's attention. His dad peeked out from behind the paper and glanced at Clint. Clint quickly tilted his head towards Natasha, as if to tell his dad to put down the paper and look at her. "This is my friend, Natasha."

Mr. Barton glanced over at Natasha. There was a flicker of recognition that appeared on his face as he recalled the conversation he had had with Clint about this girl the night before. Mr. Barton quickly composed himself and set the newspaper on the table as he got up to shake Natasha's hand.

"It's very nice to meet you Natasha," Mr. Barton said as he shook Natasha's hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mr. Barton," Natasha said with a polite smile.

Mr. Barton backed away slightly and put his hands on his hips. "Clint tells me you're from the Upper East Side."

The moment his dad said it, Clint shook his head and slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead. Natasha turned towards Clint and smirked. "You've been talking about me to your parents?"

"J-just my dad," Clint stuttered.

Natasha opened her mouth to say something when her phone started ringing from her clutch. She snapped it open and pulled out her phone. As she checked the caller ID, she frowned. "It's my mom. I've got to take this," she said as she slid her finger across the screen to answer the phone and slowly made her way out of kitchen.

Clint watched as she disappeared out of view before he turned back to his father and glared at him. "Really Dad? Did you have to mention that?"

"What? I was just trying to make conversation," his dad said, raising his hands in defense.

"Just…don't say anything else. Things are bad enough as it is," Clint sighed.

"What? What's going on? Tell me before she gets back in here," Mr. Barton said eagerly.

"God, you're like a teenager. I'll tell you later. It's another long story," Clint said as he heard Natasha finish her conversation with her mom and hang up the phone. She reappeared in the kitchen moments later with a scowl on her face.

"My mom says I have to come home. We have to start planning apparently," Natasha said with a sigh. "I already called a cab for myself. I checked some of your mail on the coffee table to tell them the address. I hope you don't mind."

Clint's heart sank. He thought he would have more time, but of course, he was wrong. He knew her parents wanted her to marry Alexei, but Clint didn't think they'd want her to marry him so soon. Like Natasha said, she was only turning eighteen in January and she was currently filling out college applications. He thought her parents would at least respect that. Apparently they didn't.

"Okay, umm, I'll…I'll walk you out," Clint said uneasily. Natasha shot him a weak smile as they headed through the living room and out the front door of the house.

They stood on the front porch in silence as they waited for Natasha's cab to arrive. Clint wasn't going to let this go. He wasn't going to give up. The predicament Natasha had gotten herself into was her fault, but Clint wasn't going to let her slip away from him so easily. He was going to help her out of this situation one way or another.

After several minutes, a cab pulled up in front of Clint's house and honked the horn. Clint followed Natasha down the porch steps and he opened the door to the cab for her.

"You know, umm, if you ever need a place to escape to…" Clint trailed off. Natasha tilted her head to the side with her beautiful green eyes. "Umm, I mean, you're always welcome here. You can come here to get away."

Natasha stared at him for a couple seconds before giving him a small smile. "Don't think I won't take you up on that," she teased.

A smile tugged at Clint's lips as he bowed his head to hide it. "Be careful going back and…have fun…planning the wedding," Clint said. He had difficulty choking out that last bit about the wedding.

"Hey, umm, maybe we can do something next weekend?" Natasha asked eagerly. "Alexei's going to Connecticut to visit Yale."

Suddenly, Clint couldn't wait for next weekend. "Yeah," he said calmly. "That would be great."

Natasha smiled a real smile this time. It wasn't weighed down with sadness or disappointment. It was an actual, genuine smile, as if she, too, couldn't wait for next weekend. "Okay," she said. "I'll call you sometime this week."

Clint nodded as Natasha flashed him another small smile before ducking into the taxi. Clint shut the door and tapped the hood three times to let the driver know it was okay for him to drive away. Clint followed the taxi with his eyesight until it disappeared from sight down the road.

"Yeah, I was right," Clint heard from behind him. He whipped around to see his dad leaning against the doorframe of the front door with a mug of coffee in his hand.

"Were you watching us the whole time?" Clint asked angrily.

"Yeah, but from the living room window," his dad said.

Clint rolled his eyes. "And you were right about what?"

Mr. Barton looked at his son before taking a sip of coffee from his mug. "I was right that this is _exactly_ like _Gossip Girl_."

* * *

**Can you tell I like _Gossip Girl_? Haha, I've mentioned it so much already. Anyways, chapter 6 is already finished so that will be up tomorrow, then you guys will have to wait until Thursday again for an update. Booooooo! Haha.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so let me know what you guys think of this chapter!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright, here's the last update for the weekend/until Thursday. There are some (wait for it!) shenanigans this chapter. I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

When Clint returned to school Monday morning, the first thing Thor, Steve, and Bruce asked him about was Natasha. They could tell something was wrong from the get go as Clint unenthusiastically recounted his Saturday with her. When Thor, Steve, and Bruce had asked what was wrong, Clint said he didn't want to talk about it. Thor, Steve, and Bruce dropped the subject but they wanted to know and they would find out one way or another.

About halfway through the week, word started to travel around the school about a party at Bobbi Morse's house on Saturday. It was clearly just rumors at the time, until Bobbi started slipping invites into students' lockers on Thursday afternoon. Apparently Bobbi's parents would be gone for the weekend so she would have to the house to herself. Therefore, Bobbi decided to throw a party and invite practically the entire school.

It was Friday morning before homeroom when Bobbi had approached Clint with his invite. Bobbi had approached him with a tap on the shoulder and greeted him with a huge grin.

"Hi Clint," Bobbi said.

"Hey Bobbi," Clint said.

"Umm, I'm sure that you've heard I'm having a party this weekend and I just wanted to give you your invite." Bobbi rooted around in her bag and pulled out a bright pink piece of paper to hand to Clint. He took the paper from Bobbi and read it. It was the usual information for any party. Where it was going to be, at what time, and what kind of alcohol would be there.

"Thanks Bobbi, umm, I'll see if I can make it," Clint said with a polite smile.

"Well, Thor, Bruce, and Steve are coming," Bobbi said innocently. "You guys always go to parties together."

"Oh yeah," Clint said as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Umm, I might have plans. I'm not sure yet."

"Oh," was all Bobbi said as her face fell in disappointment. Clint felt bad. Bobbi really liked him. She was a sweet girl and pretty too, but Clint didn't exactly feel the same about her. Maybe if he gave her a chance he would.

"You know what," Clint said. "I'll be there."

"Really?" Bobbi said excitedly.

"Yeah, it'll be fun," Clint said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Okay, great!" She flashed him a huge grin before waving goodbye to him flirtatiously as she walked off to her homeroom down the hall.

Clint knew that waiting around for Natasha to hang out with him wasn't a good thing. She was engaged so nothing was going to happen between them. Hanging out as friends was about as far they were going to get in their relationship. If Clint was going to win her over, he was going to win her over as his friend and nothing else.

* * *

Clint didn't quite know what to say to Natasha later that night when she called him. At first he hesitated to pick up the phone. He knew why she was calling him; it was so they could make plans to hang out sometime that weekend. But Clint didn't know how to tell her that he already had plans.

When he did answer the phone, Natasha was as excited and bubbly as ever and Clint didn't want to disappoint her. Natasha did most of the talking and Clint got really nervous when she mentioned hanging out over the weekend even the slightest. When she finally brought up the subject, Clint nervously interjected.

"Uh, I'm really sorry Natasha but I kind of have plans this weekend," Clint said. He even flinched after he said it because he was afraid of her reaction.

"Oh," was all she said. She sounded disappointed. "Well, that's okay. I have to finish my college applications anyways."

"I'm really sorry," Clint said again. "My friends kind of roped me into going to this party and…" That's when it hit him. He knew that Bobbi invited him because she liked him, but Clint couldn't ignore the idea that just struck him. "Hey, wait, what if you came to the party with me?"

"Is this a date, Clint Barton?" Natasha asked teasingly. She had definitely perked up the moment Clint had asked her to go to the party with him. It was obvious by the tone of her voice.

Clint felt a grin spread across his face. "Only if you want it to be." Almost as if on cue, he slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead. _You're an idiot_, he thought to himself.

Natasha giggled. "Can you really see me going to a party in Brooklyn?"

"Hey, you hung out at my house and Coney Island last weekend. I think it's time for you to take the next step," Clint joked.

Natasha giggled again. "Okay fine. What time?"

Clint felt like jumping up and down out of excitement. She wanted to go. She was willing to go. "Umm, be at my house at seven? The party's at eight. You still remember my address?"

"Yeah, it's in my phone," Natasha said.

Clint's heart soared. She had his address saved in her phone. "Okay, I guess I'll see you at seven tomorrow night then."

"Of course," Natasha said a little too excitedly. "See you tomorrow, Clint."

The moment he hung the phone, Clint collapsed on top of his bed. He couldn't believe that she was willing to go to this party with him. It felt so wrong seeing as she was technically engaged, even though she didn't want to be. But they were teenagers. They deserved to have a little fun.

* * *

It was almost seven o'clock Saturday night as Clint pulled his t-shirt on over his head. He felt the cool, autumn evening air whip through his bedroom through the open window. He had been staring out the window for quite some time, waiting for Natasha to arrive, before he decided he should get ready for the party.

The moment his head popped through the neck of his t-shirt, he heard his phone ring from his bedside table. He walked over to check it. There was a text message from Natasha and it said she was outside.

Clint quickly rushed over to his window that overlooked the street and saw Natasha standing on the sidewalk, looking around aimlessly. He smiled at the sight of her and then retreated to the steps to meet her downstairs. He rushed down the steps, nearly tripping on the bottom step of the set of stairs between the first and second floor in his haste to reach her.

When he reached the front door, he flicked on the porch light and then whipped open the door to step outside to greet Natasha. In the faint porch light, he could see her fiery red curls were barely brushing her shoulders. She was wearing a black leather jacket over a black dress. It had a bustier bodice with an empire waist. The skirt was pleated and it flared out about three inches above her knees. Despite her legs being covered with black tights, she looked like she was cold.

"Hey, you want to come inside?" Clint asked from the porch.

"No, I want to stand out here and freeze my ass off," Natasha said sarcastically. She shot him a smile before walking up the porch steps, brushing past Clint to walk inside. Clint followed her inside and shut the door behind him to keep the cold air outside.

"Umm, I just need to grab my stuff and then we can head to the party, okay?" Clint said uneasily. Natasha nodded and Clint sped up the two flights of stairs to grab his phone, wallet, and house keys. When everything was tucked away in his pockets, he rushed down the steps again and rejoined Natasha in the living room.

"Your house is quiet tonight. Where is everyone?" Natasha asked as she glanced around the living room.

"My parents are out to dinner and a movie with some friends and Barney…well, who knows what he's doing," Clint said and Natasha giggled in response. "So are you ready to experience your first Brooklyn high school party?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "You haven't lived until you've gone to a party in the Upper East Side, Mr. Barton. So I think I can handle a little party in Brooklyn."

* * *

It wasn't a "little" party. Despite Bobbi handing out invites to specific people, she had practically invited the entire school. Not to mention, word of mouth traveled fast. When Natasha and Clint arrived at Bobbi's house, there were drunk girls stumbling outside on the sidewalk, guys were smoking pot on the front porch, and the music was shaking the walls of Bobbi's house.

Clint didn't hesitate when he grabbed Natasha's hand and led her through the crowd out front so they could get to the front door. Clint thought she would recoil from him, but she let him pull her through the crowd. It was almost protective of him.

When they finally walked into the house, Clint didn't let go of her hand and Natasha actually didn't mind. They weaved in and out of the crowd as Clint looked around for his friends. He found them isolated in a corner of the living room, drinks already in hand. Clint could see that Bobbi was also hanging around Thor, Steve, and Bruce, along with Peggy Carter, Jane Foster, and Betty Ross.

Clint was hesitant to go over. Bobbi would be the odd one out in their group at her own party. Not that Thor, Steve, and Bruce were coupled up with the rest of the girls in their group, but they were all smitten with one another. Though they never admitted it, Clint knew what his friends did in secret. Steve and Peggy were occasional fuck buddies. Jane and Thor always skipped fourth period study hall to make out under the bleachers in the gymnasium. And as for Bruce and Betty? They were just lab partners in physics class, and that was it. Though Bruce definitely had a thing for Betty and everyone could see it.

Clint's grip tightened on Natasha's hand and he led her through the crowd towards his friends. Thor, Bruce, and Steve knew about Natasha but they had never met her, so Clint was a little anxious to see what they would think of her.

"Hey guys," Clint announced when he approached his friends. The moment he appeared in front of them, his hand slipped from Natasha's. As cold as it seemed, he didn't want to give his friends the wrong idea.

Clint was greeted with a round of "hello's" and "hi's" from his friends. "Umm, this is Natasha," Clint said as he turned towards Natasha. Natasha waved hello to them with a smile on her face. Clint's friends greeted Natasha just as they had greeted Clint with the exception of Bobbi, who looked thoroughly disappointed that Clint had brought someone to her party.

Thor rose from his perch on the arm of the couch, set his drink down on the floor, and then approached Natasha. He got down on one knee as he grabbed her hand and kissed it. "It is lovely to meet you, Miss Romanoff."

Clint smacked him in the back of the head. "Don't be a dick."

Natasha giggled as Thor released her hand and returned to his perch on the arm of the couch. Thor could be strange and outlandish at times, but he didn't like that he had gotten that way with Natasha.

"So, umm, something to drink?" Clint asked Natasha.

"Yeah, whatever is fine," Natasha said nonchalantly with a wave of her hand.

Clint nodded and headed off to the kitchen. From behind him, he heard Bobbi call out that she would help him and he heard her push through the crowd to join him. They reached the keg together and Clint grabbed some cups from the counter behind him.

"So, umm, Natasha seems nice," Bobbi said as she leaned against the counter.

"Yeah, she is. I know I should've asked if it was okay for her to come. I'm sorry," Clint said as he handed Bobbi a cup filled with beer.

"Oh, it's okay. There are tons of people here I don't even know. You know, word of mouth catches on quickly."

Clint nodded as he finished filling another cup with beer. "Do you think we should take some shots back?"

"Probably should," Bobbi said with a shrug. "Thor and Steve were doing shots earlier so maybe they'll want more."

Clint nodded as he finished filling the third cup of beer. With the cup of beer still in his hand, he gathered up a couple shot glasses from the counter and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels. He nodded his head to let Bobbi know he was ready to return to their group of friends and they weaved their way through the crowd.

When they returned, Natasha was engaged in an animated conversation with Thor and Jane. Peggy and Steve were making out on the couch while Bruce and Betty just stood in the corner awkwardly.

"We've got drinks!" Clint announced. Natasha's conversation ceased immediately when Clint handed her the cup of beer that was in his hands. He set the shot glasses and the bottle of Jack Daniels down on the end table and reached for one of the cups of beer Bobbi had carried back.

"Yes! Shots!" Steve exclaimed, scrambling off of Peggy to grab the bottle of Jack and the shot glasses.

"Oh, let me do one," Natasha said, setting down her cup of beer. Clint and his friends looked at her in awe. "What? Just because I'm from the Upper East Side doesn't mean I don't know how to party."

Steve turned to Clint and said, "I like this girl, Clint," as he pointed his thumb in Natasha's direction. Natasha smiled at Steve's approval of her as he poured her a shot and handed it to her. Steve poured himself a shot as well and then held his glass up to let Natasha know he was ready to down it. Natasha held her glass up as well with a smirk on her face and downed her shot.

When Natasha had swallowed the whiskey, her face contorted in disgust but she slammed the shot glass down on the end table. "Every time I do a shot of whiskey, I'm reminded that that is not my drink," she said and Clint and his friends laughed in response.

The night wore on as Clint, Natasha, and Clint's group of friends sat around, drinking beer and downing shots of hard liquor. After about eight shots of Jack Daniels and two cups of beer, Natasha was still very sober, while Steve looked like he was going to throw up and pass out. When Steve had given up trying to beat Natasha in a drinking game, Thor had taken over and decided it was time he tried to defeat her.

Throughout the night, Clint couldn't help but find Natasha even more amazing than he already thought she was. Even after twelve shots, she was still sober and he wondered if she was just immune to getting drunk. She was incredibly easy to get along with and he even found Bobbi to be striking up a conversation with her. She was just fitting in so well with his friends.

It was around 11:30 when a partygoer from the front porch stumbled in the front door breathlessly. He no doubt had had a lot to drink and his pupils were wide, so he had most likely been smoking pot too. However, the look of panic on his face is what got everyone's attention.

"You guys! The cops are here! Run!" he shouted.

It took a couple seconds for everyone to process what he had said, but when they did, all of the party guests switched into full-blown panic mode. Drinks were dropped and glasses shattered as the party guests began to push through the back door of Bobbi's house. Thor scooped up Jane, who was half passed out from all the drinks she'd had, and plowed through the crowd to get her to safety. Bruce grabbed Betty by the hand while Steve, who was somewhat sobering up, wrapped an arm around Peggy's waist as he frantically pushed through the crowd.

Clint put down his beer and grabbed Natasha's hand to lead her out of the house. As he joined Steve and Peggy at the back of the crowd, Clint looked back at Bobbi who was standing hopelessly vulnerable in the middle of her living room. She was going to get in trouble. She could get a citation and pay a fine, or she could even get arrested for serving minors and being a minor herself.

Clint grabbed Steve's arm to get his attention and the blonde instantly diverted his attention to Clint. "Take Natasha to your house. I'll meet you guys there," Clint said.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Steve asked.

"I can't leave Bobbi alone," Clint said. He turned towards Natasha and was met with a panicked gaze. "You're going to go to Steve's house. He'll take care of you, and I'll meet you there."

"What, no! You're going to get in trouble, Clint!" she whined.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Just get out of here. I don't want _you_ to get in trouble," Clint said. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go and pushing through the crowd to join Bobbi.

* * *

It was nearly one in the morning when Clint came stumbling through the front door of Steve's house. After everyone had left Bobbi's house, they had escaped to Steve's house to wait for Clint to return.

Natasha had been on edge the moment Clint walked away from her at the party. She wasn't sure why she was feeling the way she was feeling, but she didn't want Clint to get in trouble. She didn't want him to get arrested and end up in jail. There was a possibility she would never see him again if that happened. So when he walked through Steve's front door, she couldn't help but throw herself at him and wrap her arms around him.

She didn't care if she had an audience and if she had to, she could blame it on the alcohol that was barely in her system. She was just glad Clint was okay and he was, as far as she knew, not going to jail.

"So what happened?" Steve asked as he rose from the couch, careful so as not to disturb a sleeping Peggy.

Natasha released her grip on Clint and took a step back so he could talk to Steve. "Bobbi's very persuasive. She actually got off with a warning and she has to pay a $200 fine for the noise complaint."

"And you? What about you?" Steve asked.

"Nothing. They almost arrested me for getting involved but Bobbi got me out of that jam too," Clint said with a shrug. He glanced around Steve's living room and noticed that it was just the four of them. "Where's everyone else?"

"Well, Jane's throwing up in the bathroom so Thor's in there holding her hair, and Bruce left about fifteen minutes ago to walk Betty home. He's sorry for not waiting, but I should let him know you're okay."

"Tell him I'm fine. I forgive him for not waiting too," Clint said with a chuckle. "And thanks for bringing Natasha back here."

"No problem," Steve said with a wave of his hand. "I'm going to take Peggy to the spare bedroom. You guys are welcome to stay here tonight if you'd like."

"I think we're good. We'll just head back to my place," Clint said.

Steve carefully scooped Peggy up from the couch and turned to face Clint and Natasha. "Okay, be careful going home," Steve said. He bid them goodnight and disappeared down the hallway to take Peggy to one of the spare bedrooms.

"So, umm," Clint started as he turned towards Natasha. "You're welcome to stay at my house tonight. You can have my bed and I'll sleep on the floor, but I understand if you need to go home."

"A slumber party at your house sounds great," Natasha teased. Clint arched one of his eyebrows in surprise. "My parents don't like it when I come stumbling home after a night of partying, so I tend to just stay with whoever I was with."

"Even if that person is a boy from Brooklyn who is not your fiancé?" Clint inquired.

Natasha shrugged. "They don't have to know that."

Clint chuckled. She was really flirting with him. It was wrong for her to do it since she was engaged. Yes, she hated the guy but it was still morally wrong to flirt with another guy. So Clint just smiled, grabbed her hand, and led her out the door to return to his house.

* * *

**And I will leave you guys with that until Thursday. Hope you liked it! By the way, I wrote another part for this story that's going to happen later on, and it's super duper dramatic. I think you guys are going to love it. It won't happen for a while though so you'll just have to stay tuned!**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please let me know what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright, it may seem like nothing happens in this chapter, but I like this chapter haha. Idk why. Also, I'm pretty sure this story going to be a long one as well, like _Fix You_. This story is nowhere near the stuff I already have written for it. So we have a long ways to go. Anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

The first thing Natasha realized when she awoke the next day was that she was not in her comfortable, queen sized bed in her bedroom at home. The mattress was too stiff. The pillows were too flat. The blankets were too worn out and flat unlike her fluffy comforter. The second thing Natasha realized was there was the sound of light snoring coming from the floor on her left. That's when she remembered that she wasn't at some stranger's house, but at Clint's house in Brooklyn.

As Natasha recounted the events from the night before, she stopped when she remembered how she reacted once Clint walked through the door at Steve's house. She wasn't sure what had gotten into her. Clint was a great guy. Fantastic, actually, but she was engaged. Of course she didn't like Alexei but it was still morally wrong for her to have feelings for someone else.

That's when she stopped herself. Is that what this was? She was having feelings for Clint? As she lied in Clint's bed, staring at the ceiling, she realized that that was the problem. She liked Clint. He made her feel different. He treated her different. However, with Alexei in the picture, things between them would never happen, no matter how much Natasha wished for it.

Even if Alexei wasn't around, Natasha's parents would never approve of Clint based solely on the fact that they came from two totally different worlds. Natasha's mother wanted her to marry someone with money so that Natasha would never have to worry or work a day in her life. Almost like Mrs. Romanoff herself. As for Mr. Romanoff, he just wanted his daughter to be happy and as far as he knew, Natasha was happy with Alexei. If only he knew.

Natasha was ripped from her thoughts when she heard Clint stir from the floor. She quickly glanced over the side of the bed to see him rolling onto his back. She quickly rolled onto to her side, her back facing Clint, and feigned sleep. She heard him struggle to get to his feet and then quietly pad across the room to the stairs. The sound of his footsteps faded out as he walked down the stairs to the second floor.

When she knew she was alone in the room, she rolled over onto her back again and glanced over at the bedside table where her phone was sitting. She swiped it off of the table and checked to see what time it was. Not only was it well after one o'clock in the afternoon, but she had received three calls from her parents and six from Alexei.

Natasha rolled her eyes at the six notifications from Alexei and sat up in bed. Alexei was extremely dependant on Natasha. When he got bored or spent an entire weekend away from her, he expected her to be ready to hang out with him whenever he called. She knew that when she got home, Alexei would be waiting in her living room with her parents. The moment she would step into the living room, Alexei would bombard her questions as to where she was, who she was with, and why she didn't answer his phone calls. Natasha had to come up with an excuse now.

Natasha heard Clint coming back up the stairs and moments later, he appeared in the doorway. He was wearing just a t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts. His short hair was sticking up in different places and he looked like he could use a couple more hours of sleep.

"Hey, morning Natasha," Clint said as he rubbed the sleep from one of his eyes.

"Hey, good morning," she replied.

"Umm, my parents aren't here so if you want to come downstairs and get something to eat, you can," Clint said.

Natasha nodded and whipped the covers off of her body. She quickly pulled the skirt of her dress down when she noticed it had ridden up as she was sleeping. She glanced over at Clint and noticed he had looked away.

_Well if this were Alexei, he would've asked me to pull my skirt back up. Fucking pervert_, Natasha thought to herself. _At least Clint's chivalrous. Add that to the list of reasons why I like him._

Natasha had to shake that thought from her head. She couldn't get involved with Clint. The most that they could get out of this is a really great friendship. Nothing else.

She knew she had to get back home. Her parents were probably wondering where she was and Alexei was bound to call again any second. However, breakfast with Clint seemed like a fantastic idea.

The moment her feet hit the floor, her phone buzzed in her hand. She checked the caller ID and immediately wished she hadn't. Of course Alexei was calling her for the millionth time. She rolled her eyes as she slid her finger across the screen to answer her phone. As soon as she put her phone to her ear, Alexei was already talking a million miles a minute.

"I'm just at a friend's house," she managed to squeeze in between Alexei's whining. She rolled her eyes when Alexei said he was sitting in her living room at home with her parents and wanted her home ASAP. Typical.

She quickly told Alexei that she would leave within the next couple minutes and then she'd be there. Without waiting for him to say goodbye, she disconnected the call and slammed her phone on top of the covers.

"Everything okay?" Natasha heard Clint ask. She'd almost forgotten he was standing in the doorway behind her.

She picked up her shoes and quickly slipped them on. "Umm, no, Alexei wants me home," she said as she grabbed her phone from the bed and snatched her clutch from the bedside table.

"Alexei?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, Alexei. He's back from visiting Yale," she said as she pulled on her jacket.

"He shouldn't order you around like that. He's not your parents," Clint snapped. He immediately regretted saying it. It wasn't his business to butt in. But his argument was valid. Despite being Natasha's fiancé, Alexei had no right to boss her around and demand that she come home.

"Yeah, well, it's always been like this," she grumbled. "He's already waiting for me in my living room as usual, and my parents will take his side."

Clint shook his head in disbelief. "And you decided to marry him, why?"

Natasha let out a small giggle. "Because I was under pressure, and I guess I still am."

Clint stared at her before shaking his head again. "Okay, whatever you say."

Natasha rounded the foot of the bed so she could stand closer to Clint. Not too close though. They had a decent amount of space between them. "I'm sorry I have to run off," she said sincerely.

"There's nothing you can do about it, I guess," Clint said with a shrug.

Clint was disappointed. Natasha could tell. He didn't have to display the emotions across his face. She could just tell by the tone of his voice.

After several more seconds of agonizing silence, Clint finally gestured to the door to let Natasha make her way down the stairs first. On her way down, she called a cab for herself, giving the person on the other line Clint's address so someone could come pick her up.

They waited for Natasha's cab on the front porch in silence. When the cab finally pulled up to the curb, Clint followed her down the steps and opened the door for her so she could slide in. She glanced inside the cab before looking over at Clint, whose hands were still resting on the door.

"Umm, I'm not sure the next time we'll be able to hang out," she said hesitantly.

"Why? Planning the wedding?" Clint spat. He didn't mean for it to come off as cold and heartless. He just didn't understand why she had to go crawling back to Alexei the minute he ordered her to just because he couldn't handle being by himself for two seconds.

"No," she said bluntly. "Rehearsals for _Swan Lake_ are going to be kicking into high gear in the coming weeks because our opening night is the day after Thanksgiving and it runs until Christmas Eve."

"_Swan Lake_?" Clint asked.

"Yeah, I'm the Swan Queen in the production this year," she said.

"Oh. That's…cool, I guess," he said.

"Yeah, I've been working really hard," she said, looking down at the ground. "I won't have a lot of free time on the weekends soon, but maybe…I mean if you want, you can hang out with me during the week?"

She knew it was a long shot. He had to school to worry about during the week, as did she but maybe there was a chance he would be willing to trek to Manhattan during the week. She knew her feelings for him were getting in the way and she could get caught with him by someone she knew. But between now and after Christmas, she would go absolutely insane if she didn't see him. Or to put it differently, hang out with him.

She watched him mull it over before he gave her an answer. "If it's cool with you, it's cool with me," he said.

Natasha felt a smile spread across her face. "Okay," she said quickly and excitedly. "Umm, Tuesdays and Thursdays are my busiest days so we probably can't hang out on those days. And the weekends are out of the question too, but Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are good for me."

"Yeah, yeah," Clint said nonchalantly.

Natasha flashed him what she no doubt could feel was a huge grin. "Okay," she said. "So will I see you sometime this week?"

Clint nodded. "Yeah, maybe Wednesday?"

"Wednesday sounds great!" she said, her voice cracking out of excitement.

Clint nodded once again but didn't say anything. She smiled at him one more time before saying goodbye and sliding into the backseat of the cab. He closed the door and stepped away from the cab. As the taxi was slowly coasting away from the curb, Natasha gave him a small wave and he waved back. And with that, her cab was speeding off down the road.

It was back to reality for both of them.

* * *

By the time Natasha had arrived back at her apartment building on Park Avenue, she was irritated beyond belief. On her way back to Manhattan, Alexei had called her two more times and her father had called her once to make sure she was on her way home. She knew her parents were just calling her because they were concerned about her. They were just being parents. However, Alexei was being clingy and annoying.

The doorman held the door open for her and she flashed him a generous smile. She crossed the lobby and loaded onto one of the vacant elevators. She pressed number three for the third floor and watched as the elevator doors started sliding closed.

"Hold the elevator!" she heard someone shout before they stuck their arm through the small amount of space between the doors. The doors slid open again to reveal Tony Stark, her annoying neighbor and classmate. Tony couldn't necessarily be considered her neighbor seeing as he lived in the penthouse with his parents on the top floor while Natasha lived on the third floor. But seeing as she knew everyone in her building, they were all considered neighbors.

However, Tony Stark was someone she wished she didn't know. Tony and his parents were just as rich and egotistical as Alexei and his parents. Although Tony's parents were much nicer than Alexei's parents, they just oozed an aura that they believed they were better than everyone else. Tony was an annoying prick who constantly badgered Natasha in and out of school. Either way Natasha looked at it, they were just a different version of Alexei and his parents.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. Miss Romanoff doing the Walk of Shame," Tony said as he walked into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

"I am not in the mood Stark," she sneered. The elevator doors slid closed and the elevator began its ascent. As the elevator reached the second floor, Tony reached forward and pressed the emergency stop button and the elevator gave a sickening lurch as it halted.

"What the fuck, Stark? My parents and Alexei are waiting for me," Natasha snapped.

"Spill, Little Red," Tony demanded.

"No," she snapped. She reached forward to restart the elevator but Tony stood in between her and the panel of buttons.

"Your behavior has been awfully suspicious as of lately," Tony said.

"And why should I tell _you_?" she snarled. "It's none of your business."

"You've been hanging out with another boy," Tony said

Natasha stiffened immediately. How did he know? The only time Tony could have seen her and Clint together was the day Clint brought her wallet back to her. Tony never ventures down to The Village so there's no way he could've seen them when they went to breakfast together last weekend. Other than that, they've spent their time in Brooklyn which is a place Tony would _never_ venture to under any circumstances.

Natasha quickly composed herself and folded her arms across her chest. "So what if I have been hanging out with another boy? It doesn't imply what you think it does, Stark."

"Never said it did. I just want to know the scoop," Tony said giddily.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Why do you want to know so much about my personal life?"

"You know how I am."

"Yeah, and the first and last time I told you something about myself, you told the whole school. Boy did I learn my lesson," Natasha said.

Tony waved off that comment and continued. "Alexei's parents want to buy stock in Stark Industries. We already don't like him and his family. The fact that you're engaged to him makes me want to hurl. Not because I care about your feelings and your well-being. It's because you can take care of yourself. But he is an asshole, him and his whole family."

"Wow Stark, and to think I thought you were just like them," Natasha said in awe.

"I'm hurt that you would think that, Romanoff," Tony said, putting both hands over his heart. "So anyways, who's this boy? And why are you hanging out with him a lot? And why are you marrying Alexei? And - ."

"What is this? Twenty questions?" she snapped.

"Just tell me! Who is he?" Stark begged.

Normally she wouldn't give in to Tony's childish peer pressure but since she was stuck in an elevator with him, she really didn't have a choice. She didn't want to tell him for fear that he would tell the entire student body again and the news would, somehow, reach Alexei.

But then again, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. Alexei had a temper and if he found out, he would no doubt go on a rampage but maybe it was the only way to get out of this godforsaken engagement. Telling Tony was a serious risk, but if it would get her out of this elevator any faster, she was going to tell him.

"Fine," she sighed. "His name's Clint. I met him a couple weeks ago outside of the Met. He accidentally knocked all of my books out of my hands. I accidentally left my wallet behind and he brought it back to me. We've been hanging out ever since."

"Uh huh, 'hanging out,'" Tony said.

"We're just friends, Tony," Natasha said firmly.

"Yeah, friends…with benefits!"

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger and shook her head. Not only was Tony's theory absolutely preposterous but the topic of sex never came easy for Natasha. Given the fact that Alexei was Natasha's longest relationship, everyone assumed that they'd already slept together.

In reality, Natasha was absolutely terrified to have sex. She had overheard one too many stories from girls at Dalton about their experiences and Natasha didn't like it. Sure the girls glamorized it a bit but Natasha knew the truth. She knew it was supposed to hurt the first time, and it generally wasn't pleasant either like movies and TV shows made it out to be.

Alexei didn't help the situation. Natasha knew that he had had sex before he met her and she even knew that he cheated on her occasionally. But the constant pressure and taunting from him didn't make her want to have sex. It also didn't help that Alexei constantly told her that she was, most likely, the only girl at Dalton that hadn't had sex yet.

"Stark, just stop, okay?" Natasha whined.

"Okay fine. But you should bring him around someday. I'd love to meet him."

"No. You're not going to corrupt my friend," Natasha snapped.

"Keep telling yourself that, but he's clearly more than just a friend," Tony said as he pressed the emergency stop button again to let the elevator resume its ascent. They stood in silence as the elevator reached the third floor and Natasha stepped off the moment the elevator stopped on her floor.

When Natasha turned to face Tony, she caught a glimpse of a mischievous smirk that was plastered across his face before the elevator doors closed. Natasha could only hope he would keep his big, fat mouth shut.

* * *

**Uh oh! Think Stark has something up his sleeve? Or do you think he'll keep his word? And now that Natasha has spent the night at Clint's house (albeit her in his bed and him on the floor) do you think things will change even more between them? Hmmm, soooo many theories!**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, I hope you guys like this chapter. We've got the opening night of _Swan Lake_ for Natasha. Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha stared absentmindedly at her cinnamon latte from Starbucks. In the past few weeks, rehearsals for _Swan Lake_ kept getting extended and Natasha kept getting home later and later. Her teachers at Dalton weren't taking it easy on her either. In just the past week she had been assigned two English essays and a French composition. She had a Calculus exam earlier in the day and her rough draft for her eight-page History paper was due on Wednesday.

She was exhausted, mentally and physically. She rested when she could and sleep came last on her list. Coffee had been her best friend for the past couple of weeks, but even more in the past week. She couldn't wait for opening night on Friday so one more burden could be lifted off of her shoulders and she could get some sleep. She would've been sleeping now if it weren't for…

"Tasha, are you okay?" Natasha pried her eyes away from her latte to glance up at Clint who was sitting across from her at the small table they occupied at Starbucks. Following the party in Brooklyn, Clint had been trekking to Manhattan during the week to hang out with Natasha. They never really did much; they usually got coffee or a bite to eat. Natasha was usually just too tired to do anything else.

Things between Natasha and Clint had gotten complicated and interesting in the past couple of weeks. For one thing, Clint had started using nicknames for her, such as Tasha or Nat. If anyone else usually called her by something other than Natasha, she usually threatened them to not do it again. However, when Clint did it, she kind of liked it. She figured it was because, somehow, they knew each other too well even though they'd only met almost a month ago. In reality, Natasha liked the way the nicknames fell from his lips and were uttered by his voice.

In the past few weeks, Natasha's feelings for Clint had escalated too. She knew it was wrong but she couldn't help it. No matter how many times she complained about how much homework she had or how exhausted she was, Clint listened and he tried to make the situation better. If she were to talk to Alexei about it, he usually whined about how she complained too much then would change the subject.

When Natasha was with Clint, it also felt like a vacation from Alexei. He listened to her. He made her laugh. He made her smile. Clint was like sunshine on a gloomy and depressing day in her life. Even when she would talk about Alexei, he would make some snarky comment about the situation that would make him laugh. She knew the topic of Alexei was a sore subject for Clint, but at least he tried to make her feel better about it as opposed to pouting over it himself.

And that was the problem. Natasha could tell that Clint liked her. _Really_ liked her, and she was engaged to someone who didn't treat her right. She knew that if she and Clint were together, he would treat her with the utmost respect. He wouldn't cheat on her. He wouldn't be whiny and annoying and clingy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just really tired," Natasha said when she pulled herself from her thoughts.

"You know, we could've just skipped coffee today and you could've gone home and slept," Clint said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Oh no, it's okay Clint. I'm fine, really. When opening night comes around, it'll be better, which reminds me…" she trailed off as she reached into her bag on the floor and pulled out a white envelope. She set it down on the table and pushed it across the tabletop to Clint.

Clint eyed the envelope before looking up at Natasha, who gave him an encouraging nod. He grabbed the envelope and opened it to see that there was a stack of tickets inside.

"They're tickets for opening night," Natasha said as Clint pulled out the tickets and fanned them out to look at them. "One of them is for you obviously but I gave you a couple extra in case you wanted to invite Thor or Steve, or maybe Jane or Bobbi. I don't know. You don't have to come but I just thought…" She shrugged her shoulders as she trailed off.

Clint nodded and tucked the tickets back into the envelope. "Thanks. I'll try to go. It might be a little crazy to get into Manhattan what with opening night being on Black Friday but, yeah, I'll try."

His response was a little disappointing to Natasha, but she understood. New York City was absolutely crazy on Black Friday, not to mention around the holidays in general. She just hoped he would put in a little more effort than necessary to make it to opening night.

* * *

"So, Natasha invited us to opening night of her ballet performance or whatever it's called," Clint said at lunch the next day.

"Well that was nice of her," Bruce said as he bit into his hoagie.

"Yeah, it was," Clint said.

"Well, we don't want to cock-block or anything so we should just let you go by yourself," Steve said with a straight face.

Clint rolled his eyes at Steve and ignored the snickers from Bruce and Thor. Ever since the night of Bobbi Morse's party when Natasha had hugged him when he arrived at Steve's house, Clint's friends hadn't been able to let him live it down. They knew he liked her but they also knew about the strange predicament. They knew Natasha was engaged which meant she was unavailable but Steve, Thor, and Bruce could tell there was something between the two of them. It definitely wasn't just Clint who had feelings anymore.

"Do you guys want to go or not?" Clint asked. "She gave me like ten tickets."

Steve, Thor, and Bruce all glanced at one another and then looked back at Clint, all them shrugging their shoulders nonchalantly. "Sure, why not?" Steve said.

"She said Jane, Peggy, Betty, and Bobbi can come too," Clint added.

"Bobbi?" Bruce asked. "She…invited Bobbi?"

"Yeah, what's the big deal?" Clint asked.

"Well, Bobbi has a thing for you," Steve said. "Don't you think that'll just make things complicated?"

"No," Clint said bluntly, waving off Steve's comment. Clint's friends stared at him before shrugging their shoulders again. Clint understood why they thought bringing Bobbi would make things complicated. Bobbi liked Clint. Natasha liked Clint. It was like a bad love triangle in a cheesy romance novel. But Clint knew Bobbi was shy so there was no way she would ruin things between him and Natasha. "You guys know how Bobbi is. We all know she likes me but she won't admit it. She's too shy."

"He does have a point," Thor chimed in.

"Alright, so if you guys would just ask your _girlfriends_, I'll ask Bobbi, okay?"

Clint was met with a round of protests from Steve, Thor, and Bruce; they hated it when Clint called them their girlfriends when none of them were clearly dating. Clint rolled his eyes and just ordered them to ask Jane, Peggy, and Betty. Hopefully they would go so it wouldn't seem like four teenage boys were going to see _Swan Lake_ together.

* * *

The group of friends stood in line outside of the theater on opening night of _Swan Lake_. It was a chilly Friday evening and all of the girls were shivering and complaining that it was too cold. The doors weren't expected to open for another ten minutes. It wasn't too bad getting into the city so they were earlier than expected.

When the doors were finally opened, Clint and his friends got their tickets ready. Little by little they moved towards the doors until they finally handed their tickets to the people to get them scanned. When everyone had their tickets scanned, they headed into the theater to find their seats. Natasha had managed to get them pretty good seats in the orchestra section, ten rows back from the stage. Clint just hoped he didn't run into Alexei while they were there. Alexei would surely recognize Clint as the guy who brought Natasha's wallet back. Clint and his friends settled into their seats and waited for the show to begin.

"Does anyone know what _Swan Lake_ is actually about?" Clint asked, leaning forward to look at the row full of his friends.

"Seriously Clint? You go to a ballet and don't do any research beforehand?" Jane said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Well, it's about a princess who is turned into a swan by a sorcerer's curse. She ends up killing herself by the end."

"You could've said spoiler alert," Clint grumbled as he leaned back in his seat.

They sat in their seats, chatting about the forthcoming show. All of the girls seemed to be very well informed about the production while the boys only knew it was a ballet. Clint was the only one of the guys who knew it was written by Tchaikovsky.

After waiting for some time, the lights began to dim and the audience applauded as the show commenced. A group of dancers spun onto the stage for the first act. They twirled around as their tutus bounced up and down. The set sparkled when the lights hit it just right.

It wasn't until the second act when Natasha appeared on stage. Her lithe movements and the way she twirled around was what kept Clint interested in the performance. The way she moved as she glided across the stage kept him entranced.

Clint had to remind himself to not get jealous when the male dancer touched her. Apparently the ballet was supposed to be a dance of seduction, but he still couldn't help feeling the way he did. He had to remind himself, though, that he felt jealousy everyday when it came to Natasha. Whenever Alexei was mentioned, Clint had to resist the urge to go on a rant on how Alexei didn't deserve Natasha and vice-versa.

Natasha was lifted over the male dancer's head and faced into the crowd. Clint swore that, for a split second, her eyes focused on him so he flashed a small smile for her. Immediately, Clint knew it was the wrong thing to do. He saw the male dancer's arms begin to shake and Natasha suddenly went tumbling to the stage floor.

Clint winced as he saw her knees absorb the impact. No doubt it would hurt, but he thought she would be fine and she would get up to finish the dance. Except she didn't get up. She lied on the stage floor, curled up into a ball, as her hands clutched her knee.

Instantly, the music ceased and the dancers huddled around Natasha on the stage. After a couple of seconds, someone called for the director of the production and he came rushing out on stage, along with the physical therapist that catered to the dancers. They examined her knee as quick as they could before Natasha said, "Tell Nina to get ready. Keep going without me."

With that, they carted her off stage. The director turned to the audience and announced that they would be back momentarily to resume the production with a girl named Nina Sayers in the role of the Odette. With that, he rushed off stage to check on Natasha.

"I hope Miss Romanoff is alright," Thor said.

"Yeah, me too," Clint mumbled.

"Let's get out of here. We were only here for Natasha, right?" Steve asked.

The group nodded unanimously and rose from their seats, politely excusing themselves as they squeezed their way down the row. They reached the aisle and made a bee-line for the back of the theater. They opened the doors to the lobby and shielded their eyes at the sudden burst of light. Hurriedly, they made their way outside and were greeted with the cold, November air.

"Do you think we should stick around and see if Natasha is okay?" Jane asked.

"Her parents and Alexei don't even know that we've been hanging, let alone the fact that she invited me tonight. If we stick around to see her, they'll probably see me. We should just go," Clint said. In all honesty, he didn't want to leave. He really did want to see if Natasha was okay. The fact that she didn't get up after she hit the floor didn't bode well for her.

His friends nodded and led the way to the train station to head back to Brooklyn. As they rounded the corner, Clint couldn't help but look over his shoulder at the theater, in hopes that Natasha would be okay.

* * *

Clint couldn't help but pace the length of his room the moment he returned home. He couldn't help but regret leaving. What if, by some miracle, Natasha was able to dance? What if she looked over at his seat again during the performance and he wasn't there? He worried that if this was the case, would she be mad at him? If so, would she forgive him for leaving?

Clint had to shake those thoughts from his head. There was no possibility of her finishing the performance. By the looks of it, her injury was bad. Clint just hoped that it wouldn't affect how much they would hang out in the near future.

Clint's phone rang from where it was situated in the middle of his bed. He stopped pacing and quickly scrambled to check who was calling. He grinned from ear to ear when he saw it was Natasha. He slid his finger across the screen to unlock it and held the phone up to his ear.

"Hey," she breathed before Clint could even say anything.

"Hey, uh, how are you?" Clint asked uneasily.

"I've been better," she said. "I partially tore my ACL when I hit the floor. I have a surgery scheduled tomorrow morning to repair it."

"Oh," was all Clint managed to say. "So I guess I won't be seeing you for a while then."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "You think I'm going to stay cooped up in Manhattan and try to rest? Not happening."

Clint chuckled. "Well don't you think you should? Rest, I mean, so you can get back to ballet."

"I guess," she said, "but I was going to stop ballet once I started college anyways. I guess this injury just came at the right time."

"Well that's…good, I guess," Clint said.

"And by the way, you can stop blaming yourself for making eye contact with me right before I fell," she said. "Shit happens."

Clint chuckled. "I just thought I threw off your focus."

"No, don't blame yourself. Benjamin could never handle lifting me during that move for some reason in rehearsals anyways."

"Well, I'm glad you're okay. Well, sort of," Clint said.

Clint heard Natasha giggle. "I'll be fine. Hopefully I'll be fine by my birthday in January."

"Yeah, that would suck. I mean, if you were still injured for your birthday," Clint said, quickly correcting himself.

Natasha giggled again. "Well, I've got to go and get some sleep. My surgery is early tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll, umm, I'll let you go," Clint said. He didn't want to get off the phone with her. He wanted to talk to her all night but he knew she needed rest.

"Okay, I'll call you sometime this week to see when I can escape to Brooklyn," she said half-jokingly.

"I'll be looking forward to it." Clint didn't tell himself that it was too flirtatious of him to say that. He just didn't care anymore. He wanted her to know in the most subtle and unsubtle ways possible.

He couldn't wait to see her again. He could only imagine what her life would be like until she could come to Brooklyn. Her parents would probably fuss over her constantly while Alexei would complain that they couldn't do anything remotely interesting for a while. So Clint couldn't wait for her to escape to Brooklyn to see him because he knew that Brooklyn felt more like home to her than Manhattan ever did.

* * *

**Think things will get more complicated now that Natasha has some free time? We'll see! By the way, if any of you have seen _Black Swan_, did you catch the references? ;)**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated (I only got two reviews for the last chapter. Made me think it was a sucky chapter haha) so please leave a review to let me know what you think.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, I think you guys are going to really enjoy this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Clint got concerned when Natasha didn't at all that week. He knew that she was probably resting and maybe a little exhausted from her surgery, but he figured if she was bedridden she would at least send him a text message. Unfortunately, she never did text him and she never called him. When the weekend came and went, she still hadn't contacted him and he just hoped everything went well with her surgery.

He wanted to call her. He really did. He just wasn't sure if it seemed clingy if he did. As stubborn as it seemed, she was the one who usually called him anyways. Plus, he didn't want to interrupt her with a phone call if she was trying to rest. He would feel guilty if he did.

Clint glumly started the next school week without any sort of correspondence from Natasha. He walked about the halls in a haze while Thor, Steve, and Bruce could only get one word answers out of him when they asked him a question. Clint just had to accept the fact that maybe things weren't going to work out between him and Natasha. She probably got caught trying to sneak out to hang out with him and ended up confessing about their friendship. Alexei probably had a hit man tracking Clint down while Natasha's parents probably had her under house arrest.

It was Wednesday when Clint finally received some sort of correspondence from Natasha. He had been in fourth period study hall – staring absentmindedly out the window – when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He glanced over at his study hall teacher to make sure he wasn't looking. Then, as discreetly as possible, Clint pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the message while keeping his phone hidden underneath his desk.

_Hey_, it read, and that was it. Clint smiled to himself. It was only one word, but Clint suddenly felt relieved. She didn't die during her surgery like he had suspected. She was alive. She was well – as far as Clint knew at least – and she was texting him.

_I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me_, Clint typed. Before he sent the message, he nearly chuckled to himself at how reminiscent his message seemed to the first time Clint had called her to hang out. He sent the message and slid his phone into his sweatshirt pocket for easier access when she replied. _If_ she replied.

Within half a minute, Clint's phone buzzed again and he pulled it out of his pocket to check the message. _Forget about you? Never!_ the message read.

The conversation continued as Clint asked Natasha about her surgery and how she was feeling. The surgery had gone well and rehabilitation would most likely take four to six months, which meant she was definitely done with ballet. The reason she hadn't contacted Clint since opening night of _Swan Lake_ was because had been somewhat under surveillance.

The week following her surgery, she was instructed to stay home from school and rest. Since her mom and dad were gone during the day and Alexei was in school, Alexei had some of the staff from his house take care of Natasha. Whatever she wanted or needed throughout the day, they gave it to her.

Not that Natasha minded it. She liked not having to worry about making herself lunch while she was injured, but it also meant that she was being watched all the time. Calling or even texting Clint would've been conspicuous and suspicious. Now that she was back in school, however, it was a little easier to get a hold of him without someone family related breathing down her neck.

_Anyways, I have something to ask you if you don't mind_, her latest message read.

_Sure_, Clint typed back.

It was a while until she responded. Clint actually had to go to his next class and was about ten minutes into it when he finally got a response. When he opened it, he saw how lengthy the text was.

_My parents are going to be out of town this weekend for some business meeting with my dad's company, and Alexei is going to Boston to visit Harvard_, the message read._ I can't really go with any of them because of my knee but they don't want me to stay home alone either. I know it's a lot to ask, but could I stay with you?_

Clint nearly fell out of his seat when he read the last sentence. He read it correctly, right? She wanted to stay with him the whole weekend, as in overnight. Clint rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Nope, it was still there. She really was asking to stay at his house this weekend.

"Mr. Barton!" Clint heard his name get called. He lifted his head to see Mr. Coulson staring right back at him. He knew that look. It was the look any student got when they were caught on their phone during school hours. "I'm not going to confiscate your phone because there's ridiculous school protocol that I have to follow. All I'm going to ask is that you put it away and if I see you on it again during my class, I will give you a week of detention. Understood?"

"Understood, Mr. Coulson," Clint said with a nod of his head. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and returned his attention to the material Mr. Coulson was teaching the class.

However, his focus didn't last long.

Despite being told to put his phone away, he couldn't help but worry if Natasha thought he was blowing her off. But on the other hand, he was grateful that Mr. Coulson had told him to put his phone away. He needed time to think. He wanted Natasha to stay over and clearly she wanted to stay with him as opposed to staying with one of her friends in Manhattan.

However, Clint wasn't sure if his parents would be okay with it. As far as he knew, they liked Natasha. His mom was caught off guard the day he brought her over, but he was pretty sure his mom thought she was a nice girl. As for his dad, he was still convinced they were living their lives just like the characters of _Gossip Girl_.

Clint just wasn't sure if his parents would get the wrong idea about them. His dad could dream all he wanted, but Clint and Natasha weren't dating. Despite their behavior, they were just friends. As far as Clint knew, Natasha was still engaged to Alexei. The fact that Natasha wanted to spend the weekend at his house would surely give his parents the wrong impression of their relationship.

So Clint didn't answer her after English class with Mr. Coulson. He didn't answer her after lunch. He didn't answer her after his afternoon classes. Before he could give her a definite answer, he needed to talk to his parents and he knew that wasn't going to be an easy feat.

* * *

Clint made his way downstairs to confront his parents. He had heard them arrive home a half hour ago and he figured he'd give them some time to get situated before he dumped this information on them.

As he drew closer to the kitchen, he could hear his parents banging around pots and pans. He was suddenly grateful that they were cooking dinner. They were always at their calmest when they were cooking dinner. Clint walked into the kitchen and saw his parents' backs facing him. He waited a couple seconds as he tried to collect his thoughts before he actually tried to get their attention.

"Hey, umm, Mom? Dad? I know you're busy making dinner but can I ask you something?" Clint asked hesitantly.

Mr. Barton glanced over his shoulder to look at Clint before returning his attention to the food on the counter. "Sure Clint, what's up?"

Clint cleared his throat as he hesitated, once again, to talk to his parents. "Well, umm, you guys remember Natasha, right?" Clint's parents hummed their response and he took it as a sign to continue. "She, umm, she hurt her knee like two weeks ago so she's kind of been bedridden when she's not at school. But this weekend her parents and her fiancé are going to be out of town. She can't really go with them but her parents don't want her staying home alone so Natasha was wondering if it would be okay if she stayed here for the weekend."

There was a clang as Mrs. Barton dropped the spoon she was using and turned around to face Clint. "And what did you say to her?" Mrs. Barton asked.

"I didn't say anything. I figured I'd ask you guys first," Clint said.

Mrs. Barton glanced over at her husband, who was still focused on prepping the food for dinner. At this point, Clint was nervous. He was pretty sure his mother was going to murder him and he wasn't sure why.

"Well, where is she going to sleep? If her knee is injured, she can't get up and down the stairs," Mrs. Barton said as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I don't know. We can blow up the air mattress and put it in the living room. And I'll sleep on the couch so she's not sleeping alone in the living room," Clint said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well why did she ask to stay here? She doesn't have any other friends in Manhattan to stay with?" Mrs. Barton asked. "I'm not being mean, Clint. I'm just trying to understand."

"We're pretty good friends and we haven't seen each other in like two weeks," Clint said.

Mr. Barton snorted a laugh. "Ha, yeah, _friends_," he said sarcastically. He turned to face his wife, who met his eyes with an ice cold glare. Mr. Barton immediately grew silent as he turned his attention back to the food while Mrs. Barton looked back at Clint.

"Tell her it's fine. It's not a problem. I just don't understand why she wants to come all the way to Brooklyn," Mrs. Barton mused as she turned back towards the food to continue preparing dinner.

"Okay, umm, thanks!" Clint said quickly as he rushed out of the kitchen and back up the stairs. The moment he burst through his bedroom door, he jumped onto his bed and snatched his phone off of his bedside table. He sent a quick text to Natasha, telling her that he was sorry for the delay in response but that she was welcome at his house for the weekend.

Clint bounced up and down on the edge of his bed as he stared at his phone, awaiting a response from Natasha. Within a minute, his phone buzzed and he snatched it off of the bedside table to read the text message. He couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face as he read it.

_I can't wait. I'll see you Friday night!_

* * *

Clint couldn't help but anxiously bounce his leg up and down as he sat in the arm chair in the corner of the living room, awaiting Natasha's arrival Friday night. She had sent him a text earlier that day, informing him that she would be arriving around six o'clock. Clint glanced at the clock; it was currently 6:03.

Though Clint couldn't wait for her to arrive, he worried about what to say to her when she did. No doubt she would be on crutches and her knee would be wrapped up. She would need help getting places, but Clint wasn't quite sure how to help her with that. Flirting with her had become easier, but if she really needed help, it would probably involve physical contact.

Clint was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard his phone ring. He grabbed it from the end table next to the arm chair and read the text message that he had just received. It was from Natasha to let him know she had arrived. Clint jumped up from the chair and rushed to the front door. Opening it, he saw her sliding out of her taxi with her crutches in hand.

Clint pushed open the screen door and bounded down the porch steps. As she leaned on her crutches, she reached back into the taxi to grab her bag. "Hey, let me get that," Clint said as he sidled up next to her.

"Oh hey," Natasha said cheerfully as she stood up straight so Clint could reach into the taxi to grab her bag. He grabbed the strap of her gym bag and pulled it out of the taxi, slinging it across his chest. Natasha took a careful step back to let Clint shut the door to the cab and it sped off down the road.

"You need help getting up the steps or anything?" Clint asked as him and Natasha started making their way up the walkway to his house.

Natasha giggled. "I'm fine actually. I've had injuries like this before so I'm pretty accustomed to using the stairs while I'm half crippled."

Clint nodded but still couldn't help but watch her out of the corner of his eye as she tried to make her way up his front steps. She had good balance – she was a ballerina after all – and she was agile which made it easy for her to make it up the stairs. But Clint still couldn't help but worry that it wasn't very polite to just let her do it herself.

When she had reached the top of the steps, he held the screen door open for her, to which Natasha flashed him a small smile in return. He followed her into the house and set her bag at the foot of the stairs. He turned to see her eyeing the air mattress in the middle of the living room.

"Oh, umm, yeah, we figured you wouldn't be able to make it up two flights of stairs to my room so we got that out. Sorry it's nothing special," Clint said.

Natasha tossed a glance over her shoulder at Clint before crutching her way over to the air mattress. With a huff, she slowly lowered herself down with her injured left knee stretched out. She tossed her crutches aside then patted the space next to her as if to tell Clint to join her.

Clint hesitated to cross the room to join her but he ultimately did, carefully sitting down next to her. They awkwardly sat next to each other with a decent amount of space between them. Clint could hear his mother telling his father to hurry up; they were supposed to meet their co-workers for pizza at a local pizzeria in an hour that they frequented every Friday night.

"So, umm, thanks for letting me stay here this weekend," Natasha said quietly.

"Oh, umm, no problem. Thank my parents though. They were the ones who said it was okay," Clint said. As if on cue, Clint's parents came bounding down the stairs. Mrs. Barton was hoisting her purse onto her shoulder while Mr. Barton was trying to loop his belt through the belt loops on his jeans.

"Oh, hello Natasha," Mrs. Barton said when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Hello Mrs. Barton, Mr. Barton. How are you?" Natasha said with a smile.

"Oh we're good. Thank you for asking!" Mrs. Barton said ecstatically.

"I just want to thank you for letting me stay here this weekend. Sometimes I just feel like I need to get away from home," Natasha said.

"Oh it's no problem," Mrs. Barton said. "You're always welcome here."

Clint rolled his eyes at his mother. A couple days ago she was extremely defensive when Clint had asked if Natasha could stay for the weekend. Now, she was acting cheery and polite towards Natasha. Not that Clint's mother was mean to Clint's friends, but she was seemed fake compared to how she acted the other day.

"Well, Clint," Mrs. Barton said, turning her attention to her younger son. "We're off to have pizza with the staff like every Friday night. And if your brother comes home, tell him we need to talk to him about next semester's tuition, okay?"

"Yeah, I'll tell him," Clint said with a nod. Mr. and Mrs. Barton bid goodbye to Clint and Natasha and closed the front door behind them as they headed out, leaving the two teenagers by themselves.

"So, what are we going to do this weekend?" Natasha asked as she leaned back to lie on her back on the air mattress. Her thin body was stretched out on the mattress while her hair was spread out. The sight of her nearly sent Clint's heart racing.

"I don't know. Doesn't seem like there's much _you_ can do," Clint said, eyeing up her injured knee.

"There's plenty of stuff I can do from this surprisingly comfortable air mattress," she said as she stretched her arms out above her head, allowing the bottom of her shirt to ride up and expose her pale, soft skin. Clint nearly jumped as his heart began to race. Was she teasing him on purpose?

Clint shifted just the slightest away from Natasha as he turned to face her. "I mean, we could watch movies or I could bring my Xbox down here."

"I'm a girl, Clint. Do you really think I play Xbox?" she said, arching one of her eyebrows. When she caught the look on his, she could've died from laughter. "Oh my God, I'm kidding. Bring it down here. I can kick your ass in anything."

Clint stared at her for a couple seconds before she lightly shoved him and ordered him to go get his Xbox. Clint got up from the air mattress and rushed up both flights of steps. When he reached his room, he yanked the cords from their respective places and gathered up all of the accessories and games to take downstairs.

When he arrived back downstairs, Natasha was situated on the couch that faced the TV. He quickly stood in front of the TV and plugged everything in. He handed her a controller and then took a seat next to her on the couch as the game console warmed up.

He wasn't sure if she knew how to play the game so he quickly explained it to her, to which she rolled her eyes and responded with, "I'm a fast learner, Barton. Just hit play and prepare to be defeated."

Clint shook his head as he pressed a button on his controller to begin the game. Instantly, they were thrust into an apocalyptic situation in which zombies were advancing on them. Furiously pressing away at the buttons on their controllers, the zombies fell one by one. When Natasha ran out of ammo in her gun in the game, she quickly found the way to switch her weapon. Trading her gun for a crossbow in the blink of an eye, she started shooting at more zombies.

At one point in the game, Clint was so focused on how into the game Natasha was that he didn't even realize he had accidentally shot her character in the game.

"Hey, asshole. You just shot me!" she squealed. She snatched the controller from Clint's hands and held it above her head as high as she could. When Clint went to reach for it, she stretched her arm to the side so that it would be further out of Clint's reach.

The slamming of the front door is what made Clint and Natasha freeze. Their eyes flitted towards the front door to see Clint's brother, Barney, staring back at them. At that point, Clint realized how close he was to Natasha. He quickly scrambled away and put a decent amount of space between him and Natasha.

"Hey," Clint said as his voice shook out of embarrassment.

"Hey," Barney said hesitantly.

"Umm, Barney, this is Natasha. Natasha, this is my brother, Barney," Clint said, introducing the two strangers.

"Hi," Natasha said with a small wave.

Barney only nodded in response before turning his attention back to Clint. "Mom and Dad out for pizza?"

"Yeah," Clint said, "and Mom said you guys need to talk about next semester's tuition when you get a chance."

"Fine," Barney sighed. "I'm going to bed. I've been drinking since four. Keep the noise down, okay?" Barney trudged up the stairs and Clint and Natasha listened in silence as they heard him slam his bedroom door.

"Well isn't he just a ball of a sunshine," Natasha mumbled.

Clint chuckled. "That's my brother for you." When Natasha wasn't paying attention, he snatched the controller from her hand, which received a protest from Natasha. "Oh stop whining. I can reset the game anyways."

Natasha giggled as Clint reset the game so she was back in the game, shooting down zombies left and right. It was a strange way to spend the night. Both of them would honestly admit that if someone asked, but Clint and Natasha didn't care. Just like when Clint visited her before opening night of _Swan Lake_, it didn't matter what they did. As long as they were together, that was all that mattered.

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it! That's just the beginning of Clint and Natasha's slumber party weekend haha. I have big plans for the next chapter ;).**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please let me know what you guys think of this chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So we've got the second part of Clint and Natasha's slumber party weekend and I think you guys are going to _really_ like this chapter ;). Enjoy!**

* * *

When Clint awoke the next morning, he was lying on his stomach on the couch with his arm dangling over the side. The first thing he saw was Natasha sleeping peacefully on the air mattress with her knee still properly elevated. Her red curls were splayed out on the pillow that she rested her head on and her chest rose and fell with every breath she took.

The second thing Clint noticed was how close their hands were to touching. Her arm was limply stretched out towards Clint's with her palm facing the ceiling. If Clint moved his hand less than a couple inches away from the edge of the couch, he could reach her hand. And yet, he didn't.

With a groan, Clint pushed himself up into a sitting position before pushing off of the couch and tip toeing to the kitchen to get something to eat for breakfast. Staring blankly into the refrigerator, he grabbed the gallon of milk and poured himself a glass. Leaving the milk on the counter, he grabbed a box of Cheerios from the cabinet and poured himself a bowl.

As he was putting away the milk, he saw Barney stumble into the kitchen, scratching the back of his head. Barney looked around in a daze before focusing his gaze on Clint.

"Morning drunky," Clint said.

"Shut up," Barney grumbled. He pulled the coffee maker away from the wall and started to prepare it to make coffee. Clint watched Barney fumble to put the filter into the coffee maker. When he finally succeeded, he put in the rest of the ingredients to make coffee and pressed the start button to begin brewing it.

Immediately, the sweet aroma of freshly made coffee began to waft throughout the kitchen. Barney grabbed a cereal bowl from the cabinet and Clint slid the box of Cheerios over to his brother. As Barney was pouring himself a bowl, Clint grabbed the gallon of milk from the fridge and handed it to his brother.

The two Barton boys stood in the kitchen in silence, the only sound of them noisily chewing their cereal and drip of the coffee brewing. When the coffee was finished brewing, Barney put down his bowl of cereal, grabbed a mug from one of the cabinets, and poured some coffee into it. When he took a sip from the mug, Barney moaned with delight and resumed eating his cereal.

"So, you want to tell me what was going on between you and Red in there last night?" Barney asked, nodding his head towards the living room.

"First off, she has a name and it's Natasha. Second, what the hell are you talking about?" Clint asked irritated.

"You guys have this weird sexual tension going on between the two of you," Barney said. "Like you're not quite friends but you're not quite dating either. I don't know, but whatever I walked in on last night was not a friendship thing."

"What? A boy and a girl can't playfully fight over an Xbox controller?" Clint asked.

"No. At least not the two of you. Dad told me you're, like, in love with her and I could tell, just from the few seconds I saw her last night, that she's in love with you too."

"What? No, that's ridiculous! She's engaged!" Clint exclaimed.

"That means absolutely nothing. Honestly, baby brother, you act like you haven't watched any movies or TV shows," Barney said as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, this isn't a movie or a TV show. This is life," Clint shot back.

"It doesn't have to be," Barney said with a smirk. With that, he swiped his mug of coffee and his bowl of cereal from the counter and headed out of the kitchen.

It felt like an eternity until Clint pried his eyes away from the doorway of the kitchen; he had been staring at it ever since Barney disappeared through it what only felt like moments ago. Clint's family knew that he had a lot of feelings towards Natasha, but he never thought she would possess feelings for him, let alone reciprocate them.

Clint picked up his half eaten bowl of cereal and headed into the living room just in time to see Natasha pushing herself into an upright position. She pushed the stray curls out of her face and rubbed the sleep from one of her eyes before she noticed Clint standing in the doorway.

"Oh hey, morning," she said with a small smile.

"Hey," Clint said as he set his bowl of cereal on an end table. "Do you want something for breakfast?"

"No thanks, but, umm, actually, I need to pee," she said hesitantly.

It took Clint a couple of seconds to realize what she actually meant. At first he just wanted to point her in the direction of the bathroom and tell her to go right ahead. But when Clint realized the one and only bathroom that was in their house was upstairs, it finally clicked for him.

Even though she was perfectly capable of going up the front steps by herself, it was only a couple of steps. To reach the bathroom, she would have to go up an entire flight of stairs. She could do it by herself but it would take her a while.

"Umm, okay, do you want help getting upstairs?" Clint asked uneasily.

"No, I want to crawl upstairs like an infant who's just learning how to use the stairs," Natasha said sarcastically. She whipped the covers off of her body and pushed herself to the edge of the air mattress. "Actually, while I'm up there, is it okay if I take a shower too?" Clint nodded his head. "Okay, can you hand me my bag then?"

Clint nodded and he grabbed her bag from where it laid at the foot of the stairs. He set it down next to her on top of the air mattress and she began rummaging around in it for a change of clothes and some toiletries. When she had grabbed all of her necessary items, she looked at Clint as if to tell him she was ready to go upstairs.

"Well, how do you want to do this?" he asked.

"Oh for God's sake, just pick me up and carry me," she said confidently.

Clint stared at her blankly. Picking her up and carrying her upstairs was quite possibly the most intimate thing she could ask him to do and Clint worried that if he even touched her in the slightest, Alexei would somehow know. Clint knew Natasha would never tell Alexei, but he feared that Alexei had some sixth sense that he could tell if someone else touched Natasha.

Then again, the tone of her voice and the look in her eye convinced Clint that she wanted his arms around her. Clint wanted her in his arms too but the physical contact would be far too personal for their friendship. Or relationship. Whatever it was that they had.

"O-okay, umm, just…pick you up?" he asked.

Natasha rolled her eyes and then nodded her head. Clint hesitated to step forward and scoop her up in his arms. But eventually, he did. He carefully put his one arm underneath the backs of her legs while the other rested around her back. He hoisted her up and he immediately felt her arm snake around the back of his neck. It took every bit of energy to not jump at that action as he headed towards the stairs.

He knew that if his brother or his parents caught them like this, they would definitely be suspicious so Clint took the stairs two at a time. By the time he reached the top of the stairs, he was winded. Natasha really didn't weigh that much, but the extra weight definitely contributed to it. When they reached the bathroom, Clint carefully set her down on the floor and shadowed her to make sure she had her balance.

"Okay, so towels are in here, along with the washcloths," Clint said, pointing to the closet. "You can use any of the shampoo and soap that's in there."

"I'm good. Got my own," she said, shaking a bottle of shampoo that she had brought upstairs with her.

"Okay, umm, I'll just be, umm, out here," Clint said, nodding his head towards the hallway. Natasha nodded as he backed out of bathroom and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the wall outside of the bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, it won't be long until the two of you are fucking," Clint heard his brother say. He searched around the hallway until his eyes fell on his brother standing in the doorway to his bedroom.

"Mind your own goddamn business or I'll tell Mom the reason you can't pay for your tuition next semester is because you spend it all on pot," Clint shot back.

Barney scowled at his younger brother before slamming his bedroom door in a huff.

* * *

Clint and Natasha spent the rest of their day on the living room couch watching movies. Clint's dad was the owner of an extensive DVD collection so there was a lot for the two teenagers to choose from. Clint pulled a stack of DVDs from the shelf and took them over to Natasha – who was situated on the couch due to her injury – so she could pick out a movie. She searched through the stack of movies before settling on two different movies. She couldn't decide so she handed them to Clint and told him to surprise her.

Clint grabbed the movies and took them over to the DVD player to pop one of them in. He grabbed the remotes for the TV and DVD player and then rushed back to the couch and flopped down on it. The DVD reached the main menu and Clint pressed play to start the movie.

Though they sat in silence as they watched the movie, Clint couldn't help but glance over at Natasha out of the corner of his eye every so often. When he wasn't looking at her, he felt like he could feel her eyes on him as well.

Movie after movie, they never said anything to one another. Once they finished a movie, Clint would get up and put in another one. He would then return to the couch, sit down, and press play to start up the next movie without either of them saying a word to the other.

They were on their fifth movie at about seven o'clock at night when Natasha broke the silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Clint could see Natasha squirm uncomfortably. Her leg had been resting in the same position for the past several hours so it was no doubt stiff and uncomfortable.

"Hey, Clint," she said softly.

"Hmm?" Clint hummed as he turned his head to face her.

"My leg's killing me. Do you mind if I stretch it out on the couch?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Clint said as went to get up from the couch to move to the arm chair.

"You don't have to get up unless you would mind my leg being in your lap," she said with a smirk.

At this point, Clint was pretty convinced that Natasha had a goal for the weekend. What that goal was he wasn't quite sure, but he was definitely convinced she was trying to provoke him in some way or form. Whatever she was trying to accomplish, it was working.

"Oh, umm, yeah, that's fine," Clint said as he sat back down on the couch. Natasha brought her uninjured leg up onto the couch first before gently swinging her injured leg up to rest in Clint's lap. She pushed herself up so that she was sitting comfortably and so that her leg wasn't disturbing Clint.

"You're okay with this?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's fine," Clint said, waving his hand to brush it off. Natasha nodded and then returned her attention back to the movie. Out of the corner of his eye, Clint could see Natasha trying to fend off a smile but failed miserably.

As much as he didn't want to admit it, maybe his brother was right. Maybe Natasha really did have feelings for him.

* * *

It was later that night, in the wee hours of the morning, when Clint and Natasha had ended up just lying on the air mattress, talking about random things in their life. Clint's parents and his brother had gone off to bed hours ago so it was just Clint and Natasha awake at the moment. How they got onto the topic of random things in their lives, they weren't sure, but they were learning more and more about the other than they could've ever guessed.

Natasha learned that Clint got a concussion from a time that he fell backwards off of his grandparents' deck at a family picnic. She learned that he hated hip-hop and rap music because of all the times when his brother would blast the music when they shared a room when they were younger. She learned that he despised spiders and it was mostly because of the scene in _Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets_ when Harry and Ron meet Aragog in the Forbidden Forest.

She learned that he has a crush on Tina Fey because of her ability to od everything on the set of _30 Rock_, including write, produce, and star in it. Not to mention that she created the show. She learned that Clint smoked pot but it wasn't very often. He also made sure to mention that he didn't do any other drugs.

Clint learned that Natasha started doing ballet when she was three years old because her mother had forced her. At first, she didn't want to go, but over the years, she came to love it. Clint learned that Natasha was also almost forced to compete in pageants at the age of six but she had put her foot down on that one.

Clint learned that she favored her father over her mother because, surprisingly, he was much more sympathetic towards her feelings. He learned that she had never broken any bones in her body but she had had countless injuries over the years. She has had three sprained ankles, six sprained wrists, one dislocated shoulder, and a complete ACL tear in her right knee.

"I almost didn't dance again," she said quietly. "But that was at a time when I was still in love with ballet."

"Are you accident prone or something?" he teased.

"No," she said with a laugh. "Dancers and athletes just tend to get injured more often because of how dedicated they are." She flicked her hair over her shoulder and then flashed a smirk in Clint's direction. She then laughed before saying, "I actually have a really crazy scar from the surgery. Want to see it?"

Clint shrugged his shoulders. Natasha pulled at the pant leg of her yoga pants and rolled it up to reveal an angry looking scar that ran from the base of her knee to a couple inches above it. Nowadays, knee surgeries were done by making small incisions. She must've done some really bad damage to it for the surgeons to have to completely open it.

"Shit," Clint said, leaning forward to get a better look at it. "That looks like it really hurt."

"It wasn't so bad," Natasha said. Clint turned his head and his blue-grey eyes connected with Natasha's stunning green ones. His eyes searched hers before he slowly leaned in and softly pressed his lips to hers.

"Sorry, sorry," Clint said when he quickly pulled away. He turned his head because he wasn't sure if he wanted to face her. It had gone too far this time. It didn't matter if she had feelings for him. She was engaged and his conscience was telling him it was wrong. It was so very, very wrong.

"Clint," she said softly. He turned to look at her and he expected her be slightly angry. Instead, his lips met hers again as she crushed her lips against his. This time, Clint wasn't as nervous, and it was mostly due to the fact that she was the one who had instigated the kiss. But in the back of his mind, his conscience was nagging him that this was wrong.

But he ignored that as he felt Natasha lean back onto the air mattress. Wrapping her arms around him, she dragged him down with her. As she fell back against the mattress, the kiss became more passionate, more romantic. Clint put more of an effort behind it now that he knew that she wanted it. His lips searched hers and Natasha grew more aggressive. Every so often she would playfully bite Clint's lower lip and then giggle when Clint was startled by it.

Clint slowed down the kiss when his conscience started to nag him again. Eventually he pulled away from Natasha, only to see her green eyes sparkling back at him.

"What is this, Natasha? What are we?" Clint asked.

"Whatever you want it to be," she purred as she placed a hand behind Clint's neck and pulled him down to kiss him again. Clint kissed her back only because he didn't want to hurt her feelings. When they were finished, he pulled back again to see her excited green eyes.

"No, really Natasha. What is this? You're engaged - ."

"So? He cheats on me all the time," she interjected.

"So you're going to use me to fight fire with fire?" Clint shot back, arching an eyebrow.

"No, Clint, no. I didn't mean for it to come out like that," she said with a sigh. "I like you. I like you, and not just as a friend, but I don't know how to get out of the mess I've gotten myself into."

"Just end it with him," Clint ordered.

"I wish it were that simple," she sighed.

"Well, no, it's never simple. But maybe if you tried it, you wouldn't feel so guilty," he said.

"I don't feel guilty. I don't feel guilty about this one bit," she grumbled. Clint tilted his head as he looked at her in confusion. "You know that I don't love him. I don't even remotely like him. I can't feel guilty about this unless I have feelings for him. I have feelings for him alright, but none of them are positive."

Clint shook his head. "You have to end it. This isn't healthy. You shouldn't be in a relationship where you're not happy."

"And you think I'll be happy with you?" she asked, arching one of her eyebrows.

"I don't want to be selfish so I'm not going to say that. To tell you the truth, I just want you to be happy," Clint said. It was extremely deep and personal. Yes, he wanted her to be with him, but really, he just wanted her to be happy. If she was happy with him, then so be it. If she was happy with someone that wasn't him, then so be it.

"Would I be a horrible person if I said I'm happy right now?" she said with a smirk.

Clint couldn't help the smile that spread across his face when she said that. Maybe he did make her happy but he couldn't be selfish in thinking that. He didn't want to think too positively. There was no telling if she was going to rip the rug out from underneath him.

"Clint, I know this seems bad, but you make me feel different when I'm around you. You treat me differently and you look at me differently. I didn't think I'd fall in love with you," she said.

Clint's jaw dropped at that last bit. Did he hear her right? He wasn't dreaming, was he? She had fallen in love with him. She wasn't just smitten with him. She didn't just have these little things called feelings for him. She was in love with him. Well, she was just full of surprises tonight.

"Don't act so surprised. Even your brother could see it," she said. Clint's eyes opened wide in shock. "Yeah, I was awake during that conversation you guys had in the kitchen."

Clint chuckled. "Okay, fine, so where do we go from here?"

"How about you kiss me again and you let me worry about Alexei, okay?" she asked as she put her hand on the back of his neck again and pulled him down towards her lips but leaving just enough space in between them.

"What are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"I told you to let me worry about it," she said and then she pulled him closer to her so that their lips could connect. The more they kissed, the more the guilt dissipated. Maybe he could be okay with this. To tell the truth, even if she didn't end things with Alexei, he would be okay with it. He wasn't okay with her using him to fight fire with fire, but Clint realized Alexei needed a taste of his own medicine.

They kissed until they grew tired, and when they awoke in the morning, they resumed what they didn't finish. Clint didn't care if his parents were judging him or if Barney was telling him "I told you so." Clint didn't even care that his neighbors were possibly watching him as he kissed her goodbye when her cab came to pick her up. There was nothing he liked more than the feel of her lips against his and the feeling that there were no secrets between them any longer.

* * *

**What? They kissed? But Natasha's still with Alexei and she wants to be with Clint. Oh what a tangled web I weave. So I'll leave you guys with that until next time (Thursday).**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a review to let me know what you think!**


	11. Chapter 11

**I know, I know, I promised this would be up Thursday and it wasn't yada yada yada. I'm trying to not fail my political philosophy class if you guys don't mind haha. But I cranked this chapter out to hold you guys over. I know it's a little short but there's some fluff but lots of drama. Enjoy!**

* * *

When Clint returned to school that week, he felt like a different person. What he did with Natasha over the weekend made him feel rebellious. He couldn't help but hold his head high as he walked down the halls of his high school.

Of course, Steve, Thor, and Bruce wanted to know every detail. They were like gossiping housewives. They wanted to know if Natasha was a good kisser. They wanted to know what they did when they weren't kissing. Most importantly, they wanted to know what Natasha's status was with Alexei. Clint knew this would come up eventually so he had to tell his friends that, for the time being, Natasha was pretty much cheating on Alexei with him.

Clint knew it was wrong and Natasha knew it was wrong, but they both couldn't help but feel like Alexei deserved it. Natasha didn't like him. Alexei never treated her right. He had a history of cheating and he deserved a taste of his own medicine.

"This is awesome," Steve had said in response.

"Really, it's not," Clint said, shaking his head.

"But the guy's an asshole. You said it yourself. He deserves it," Steve said.

"Yeah, he does, but I have morals you know," Clint said.

"Who cares?" Steve asked, shrugging his shoulders. "We're all doing things against our morals. Why shouldn't you?" Clint shrugged his shoulders but didn't say anything. Steve stared at him for a couple seconds, waiting for a response, before continuing. "Well, anyways, you should invite your _girlfriend_ to the Sleigh Bells concert this weekend. My dad won tickets from the company he works for so he gave them to me."

"One, she's not my girlfriend. I don't really know what we are. Two, I'll see if she's up for it what with her knee injury and all," Clint shot back.

"Just ask her. We want to see how you two lovebirds are with each other," Steve said as he started making kissing noises. A couple seconds later Thor and Bruce joined him. Clint rolled his eyes at the immaturity of his friends and returned his attention to his lunch in hopes they would drop the subject.

* * *

There was nothing Clint wanted more than for Natasha to spend another night with him. They would be at a concert in Brooklyn, surrounded by their friends and good music. The next time Natasha called him, he ended up broaching the subject, to which Natasha replied with enthusiasm.

"Oh I've heard of them!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," Clint said, taken aback by her excited response. "Steve's dad won like 10 tickets from the company he works for. He knows Steve and I like them so he gave the tickets to us. I was just wondering if you'd maybe want to go."

"It's on Saturday, you said?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah," Clint said, "but I would understand if you didn't want to go because of your knee. Don't want anyone bumping into it or anything."

"Don't be ridiculous," Natasha said. "I'm so in!"

"Y-you want to go?" Clint asked, taken aback by her answer.

"Don't act so surprised," she purred. "Any opportunity to be with you, I'll take it."

Clint couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. Even though he knew that what they were doing was still wrong, he couldn't control the feelings he had for her. Whenever she talked to him the way she did, it was just fuel to the fire.

"Okay, umm, I'll let you know the details on Friday," Clint said.

There was a short pause before Natasha purred, "Looking forward to it."

* * *

Clint, Steve, Thor, and Bruce stood outside of St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn as they waited for Natasha to arrive. Clint looked around at his group of friends as he saw how they interacted with their significant others. Peggy had her head resting on Steve's shoulder while Thor had his arm wrapped around Jane. Bruce and Betty never showed very much affection towards one another, but tonight, they were standing particularly close to one another. They were standing so close that their arms were touching.

As Clint looked around at his group of friends, he couldn't help but wonder why they gave him so much trouble when it came to Natasha. They were practically in the "are they or aren't they" status with their significant others.

"Oh shit," Clint heard Bruce say as he stiffened as the sight of something.

"What?" Clint asked. Bruce only responded by pointing towards the road. Clint turned around and saw Natasha getting out of a cab. She was no longer using crutches but her knee was still in a brace that let her bend her leg. She was wearing a dark blue dress with a pleated skirt and a sparkly bodice. Keeping her warm was the leather jacket she wore to the party in Brooklyn and she was wearing a pair of black tights. She was beautiful as usual and Clint would've smiled if it weren't for the reason Bruce was pointing towards her.

Helping Natasha out of the cab was Alexei in all of his prim and proper glory. For someone who was going to a concert in Brooklyn, he was wearing a pair of perfectly pressed khaki pants and a sweater vest with a long sleeved shirt underneath. His shoes were shined to perfection and his blonde hair was perfectly coiffed.

"What the fuck is _he_ doing here?" Steve snarled as he pulled Peggy close to him.

Clint turned around and shot a nasty look at Steve. As much as Clint didn't like the fact that Alexei was in Brooklyn, he couldn't have Steve hurling nasty comments in Alexei's presence. "I don't know," Clint said, "but just keep your mouth shut."

Clint turned his attention back to Alexei and Natasha and he saw Alexei gently grab Natasha's arm to help her through the crowd. Of course Alexei would act like a perfect gentleman not only in public, but around Clint. Whether Alexei knew about Clint and Natasha or not, whatever Alexei was going to do with Natasha throughout the night it was going to make Clint jealous no matter what.

"Hey Clint," Natasha said when they finally reached him.

"Hey, Ta – umm, Natasha," Clint said. He had to catch himself before he called her by one of her nicknames. That would give them away for sure.

"You remember my fiancé, Alexei, right?" Natasha said as she gestured towards the blonde at her side.

"Uh, yeah, of course," Clint said as he extended his hand forward to shake Alexei's. Immediately, Alexei grasped Clint's hand and shook it vigorously.

"Nice to finally see you again," Alexei said politely as he released his grip on Clint's hand.

"Uh, yeah, you too. So what brings _you_ to the Sleigh Bells concert tonight, Alexei?" Clint asked as he tried to keep his voice as polite and under control as possible.

"Well, I'm a big fan of the band so I decided to get tickets for Natasha and I. I surprised her this morning with the tickets and I found out that she was already coming to see them with you. I couldn't let the tickets go to waste so I figured I'd come anyways," Alexei explained.

_Bullshit_, Clint thought to himself. _You're just a jealous prick who didn't want to leave his fiancée out of his sight for one night._ Clint glanced over at Natasha and saw that she had rolled her eyes and shook her head at Alexei's story. This only confirmed that Clint's suspicions were true.

At that moment, the doors to the warehouse burst open and the staff began admitting people. Without another word to Alexei, Clint turned back towards his friends, but not before shooting Natasha an apologetic look. He felt sorry for her more than he felt angry that Alexei had come. She needed to end this nightmare before it got even worse.

* * *

The sound of the bass reverberated throughout the warehouse as Sleigh Bells started their set. The crowd cheered at their appearance and they began to move to the music. Despite Sleigh Bells starting out the set with one of his favorite songs by them, Clint couldn't help but keep an eye on Natasha. She was several feet away from him and he could just barely see her fiery red hair through the crowd of people. She definitely didn't look like she was having a good time while Alexei bobbed his head to the music. She looked like she was going to make a break for it any second.

It was about four songs into the set when Clint saw Natasha tap Alexei on the shoulder and say something to him. Clint saw Alexei nod and Natasha turned to make her way to the back of the warehouse. On her way back, she caught Clint's eye and nodded towards the back of the warehouse as if to tell him to meet her back there.

Clint watched her continue to the back of the warehouse before he turned his attention back to his friends. He tapped Bruce on the arm and shouted over the loud music that he was going to find the bathrooms. Bruce nodded that he understood and then turned back to the show. Clint turned to face the back of the warehouse and started to push his way through the crowd.

When he finally broke free, he saw Natasha standing a couple feet away, standing up on her tip toes as she searched through the crowd. Clint made his way over to her and the moment he reached her, she grabbed his hand and led him towards the bathrooms. She pushed open the door of the ladies' room and then released Clint's hand as she checked under the stalls to make sure no one else was in there. When it was all clear, she went back to the door and locked it.

"Are you looking to get kinky or something?" Clint teased.

"Nope," she said as she closed the distance between them and crushed her lips to his. He was taken off guard by the action but immediately gave in to sweet temptation. He hands dropped to her hips and she pushed him backwards until his back hit the wall. The kiss grew more aggressive and Natasha playfully bit his lower lip like she always did when they made out.

At one point, Clint had had enough of her taking control so he grabbed her by the waist and switched positions. He gently pushed her up against the wall and attacked her lips with his. When he grew tired of kissing just her lips, he trailed kisses down her jaw line, her neck, her collar bone, and her chest. As he did so, she moaned with pleasure and Clint chuckled before returning to kiss her on the lips.

They were pulled out of their fantasy world when a loud banging came from the other side of the bathroom door. They immediately pulled away from each other and stared at the door in hopes that it didn't get knocked off of its hinges. When the banging stopped, they composed themselves and awkwardly stood in the bathroom in silence.

"So whatever happened to dumping Alexei's sorry ass, Tasha?" Clint asked, finally breaking the silence.

"I'm working on it, okay?" she said, not meeting his gaze.

"Working on it? It really doesn't seem that way," Clint said, folding his arms across his chest.

Natasha sighed. "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to do it. I'm under way too much pressure to stay with him."

"I said it before and I'll say it again. You need to do what makes you happy. I'm not saying you have to be with me afterwards, but you _have_ to end things with him," Clint said. With that, he walked over to the bathroom door, unlocked it, and wrenched it open to walk back out into the warehouse without so much as saying another word to Natasha.

* * *

Clint couldn't focus on the rest of the show because his mind was too preoccupied with his little romp with Natasha in the bathroom. He loved the feel of her lips on hers. He loved how soft her skin felt when he trailed kisses down her neck and chest. He loved the moan that escaped her lips as he did so.

But now, what they were doing wasn't a question of morality anymore. It was a question as to what would make Natasha happy. Clint didn't care that they were breaking all the rules. All he wanted was for her to be happy. He didn't care if that meant she would be happy with someone other than Clint, just as long as that someone wasn't Alexei. He knew he made her miserable and unhappy, and it would make Clint happy if she just ended things with Alexei.

As they filed out of the warehouse and the crowd pooled into the street, Clint caught a glimpse of Alexei guiding Natasha to a cab. Like the fake gentleman that he was, he opened the door of the cab and helped Natasha into the backseat before gently shutting the door.

As he rounded the back of the cab, he paused to reach into his pants pocket and grab a small item. Clint watched as he unrolled a small plastic bag and dumped a small pile of white powder onto his finger. He brought his finger up his nose and inhaled the substance. He scrunched up his nose and let out a breath before continuing to the other side of the cab and sliding in next to Natasha.

Clint stood there in disbelief over what he just saw. Alexei had just done something so minor yet outrageous in the midst of a crowd of people, as well as in front of Clint's eyes and behind Natasha's back. No doubt Natasha most likely knew but she didn't see him do it right then and there.

As he watched the cab speed off down the street, Clint just shook his head in disbelief before muttering to himself, "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

* * *

**Uh oh, so Alexei's a druggie and Clint DOES NOT like that. If you guys have never heard of Sleigh Bells, go look them up of YouTube. If you'd like some suggestions as to which songs to listen to, my favorite songs by them are "Kids," "Rill Rill," "Demons," and "Road to Hell." Look them if you would like!**

**Okay, so here's the game plan. I have a 6-7 page paper due Monday for my political philosophy class. I only have the introductory paragraph right now so I desperately need to write it. Therefore, there WILL NOT be an update tomorrow. HOWEVER, since the paper is due Monday, I can update after my class. It's not a promise just so you guys know, but it could happen.**

**Anyways, as always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Once again, I'm sorry I didn't update this. I'm trying to have a bit of a social life at school while trying to not fail my political philosophy class at the same time. Philosophy sucks. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave a review to let me know what you think!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I know I said it was no guarantee but lo and behold, here is the next chapter. We have Clint and Natasha talking to their fathers about their issues. I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Clint didn't see Natasha very much after the Sleigh Bells concert. The impending holidays most likely had something to do with it, for Clint and his family were very busy and Natasha and her family probably were too. Every so often throughout the week he would receive a short text message from her, none of which he ever responded to. He was still slightly angry over the fact that she hadn't broken things off with Alexei. It's not that Clint wanted her to be with him. It was so much more than that. He cared about her being happy, and no one wants to be married to someone they're unhappy with.

As Christmas Eve approached, Clint helped his parents pack up their car for their trip to Pennsylvania to visit Clint's grandparents. Every Christmas, all of Clint's family and relatives congregated at Clint's grandparents' house for the holidays. During the day, the girls would slave over baked goods in the kitchen while the boys would set out in the woods during the day to hunt for deer and bears. At night, they would sit around the cozy fire and play catch up with the rest of their family members.

Clint couldn't wait to get out in the woods. He couldn't wait for the sweet serenity of the outdoors and the feel of his bow in his hands as he was perched in his nest several feet above the ground. But before he could reach that tranquility, he would have to suffer through Christmas morning with his chaotic family members.

* * *

It was about one o'clock in the afternoon on Christmas Day and Clint sat in his nest in the woods with his father as they waited for a deer or bear to pass by. Christmas morning had been hectic and Clint had gotten a headache from one of his cousins screaming in his ear, but now that he was outside and in the woods, he felt calm.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake this one thought. The image of Alexei doing drugs right on the streets of Brooklyn was embedded in his brain. Clint knew he seemed pretty hypocritical since he smoked pot every so often, but Clint had seen the effects of cocaine first hand at Brooklyn parties. Some students he went to school with have nearly lost their minds from doing cocaine and some of the guys have gone completely off the rails and abused their girlfriends. Clint can seem as hypocritical as he wants, but the last thing he wants to happen to Natasha is she gets the shit kicked out of her because Alexei's using.

Clint was in another situation in which he felt the need to talk to his dad and fortunately for him, they were both sitting in the nest, just the two of them. There was no one there to bug them. There were no screaming cousins or a judgmental mother or an annoying brother. It was just Clint and his dad.

Of course Clint had no idea how to start a conversation with his dad about drugs. The last thing he wanted his dad to think was that Clint was doing drugs himself, even though that aspect was true. Clint knew that if he possibly threw Natasha into the conversation, his dad wouldn't judge him as much.

It took Clint a couple minutes to actually pluck up the courage to talk to his dad about this situation. When he did open his mouth to say something, his voice was rough and it made him seem nervous.

"So, umm, Dad, while we're up here, just you and me, can I ask you something?" Clint asked hesitantly.

"Of course Clint," Mr. Barton said as he carefully rested his rifle in his lap.

"I really don't know how to ask this but…I mean, it's kind of about Natasha - ."

"She hasn't ended it with the fiancé yet, has she?" Mr. Barton interjected.

"Oh, uh, no, she hasn't but this is kind of concerning the fiancé himself," Clint said uneasily.

"Sure, what's going on?" Mr. Barton said.

"Well…" Clint trailed off. He wasn't exactly sure how to tell his dad that he saw Alexei doing cocaine right in the middle of a crowded street. Mr. Barton wasn't like Mrs. Barton in the sense that she jumped to conclusions from the get go, but Clint didn't want his father to judge him and think he was involving himself with the wrong crowd.

Not only that, but he didn't want his dad to think that Natasha was a bad influence. Clint knew his dad liked Natasha, but if she was associated with Alexei, Mr. Barton would probably tell Clint he couldn't hang out with Natasha anymore. Not that Clint would listen because he was eighteen, but he valued and respected his dad and his opinions and he didn't want to ruin the good relationship he had with his dad.

"Okay," Clint said once he gathered his thoughts. "You have to promise not to judge me because it's going to sound really bad."

Mr. Barton turned his head to look at his youngest son, a look of confusion displayed across his face. "What did you do, Clinton?"

Clint flinched. He knew he was in deep shit when his parents used his full first name. "I told you not to judge me."

"Right," Mr. Barton sighed. "Sorry. You were saying?"

"Well, it's about Alexei. I kind of…caught him doing coke at the Sleigh Bells concert."

Mr. Barton turned to look at Clint and the look of shock on his face was undeniable. "You didn't do any, did you Clinton?" Mr. Barton asked firmly.

"No, no, no," Clint said quickly. "I actually saw him doing it from a distance, but he was doing it in the middle of a crowded street outside of the warehouse once the concert let out. So there were security guards and police around, but no one seemed to notice him doing it."

"Was Natasha doing any of it?" Mr. Barton asked.

"No, she was already in the cab," Clint said. "Besides, do you think it would be smart for her to do it if she's on pain meds for her knee?"

"No, it wouldn't, but she could've been doing it before her injury."

"Dad," Clint whined. Now Clint's dad was making Natasha out to be the villain. Clint just had a feeling that Natasha wasn't the type of girl to do hard-core drugs, even if she was from the Upper East Side. "Just trust me. I don't think Natasha would be the kind of girl to do that."

"Okay, fine," Mr. Barton said. "So what exactly are you trying to ask me?"

"Well…what do I do? She's with this guy and I'm actually kind of scared for her that he may just snap one day while hopped up on coke and take it out on her."

"You are completely in love with this girl, Clint," Mr. Barton muttered.

"Dad, now is not the time," Clint shot back.

"Right, right," Mr. Barton said quickly. "Well, I don't think there's anything you _can_ do Clint. Clearly you two are involved with each other because let's face it, we knew you two would end up making out that weekend she stayed at our house - ."

"_Dad_," Clint groaned through clenched teeth.

"What? We all knew it would happen!" Mr. Barton exclaimed. Clint glared at him for a couple seconds before Mr. Barton cleared his throat to continue. "Anyways, I think this fiancé of hers might be slightly suspicious of you two. Why else would he show up to the Sleigh Bells concert?"

"Because he's an arrogant prick who doesn't know how to let his fiancée have fun," Clint said sarcastically before turning to look at his father. "I figured I'm the reason he went. I just wanted to offer up another option to make myself feel better."

"This is all on her, Clint," Mr. Barton said. "You can't break them up for her. Well, you could but that would just create more conflict."

"I know," Clint sighed. "I know. I just don't want them to still be together and something happens to her while he's on drugs or something."

"Understandable, Clint," Mr. Barton said. At that moment, Mr. Barton stiffened and Clint saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Not far off in the distance between a pair of trees was a buck that was curiously sniffing the ground.

Slowly and carefully Clint lifted his bow from his lap and loaded an arrow to take aim. With a steady hand, he lined up his bow with his target and pulled the bow string back further to get ready to release it.

"Don't miss, son," Mr. Barton said from Clint's left.

Clint turned his head to face his father without so much as slackening his grip on his bow. With a smirk, Clint said, "Don't be ridiculous, Dad. I never miss." With his eyes still trained on his father, Clint released the bow string to send the arrow whizzing towards its target. Clint turned his attention back to the deer to find it lying motionless on the ground with the arrow sticking out of its head.

Mr. Barton scoffed. "Well, dinner is served."

* * *

Natasha carefully tip toed down the hallway to her father's office on Christmas night. She was confused. She was so very, very confused. She knew for sure that Clint wasn't talking to her because of what happened during the Sleigh Bells concert. She was also sure that he had seen Alexei doing drugs after he'd helped her into the cab.

She needed to talk to her dad. Out of both of her parents, her father understood her best and he wanted Natasha to be happy. However, she wasn't quite sure how happy he wanted her to be. Would he be okay if she ended things with Alexei and started dating Clint? How would he even react to learning about Clint?

That's when she realized that neither of her parents knew about Clint. Every time they asked her where she was going when she would go hang out with Clint, she would be vague or lie about it. They would completely fall for her lies and she would be on her way. But as she realized that her father didn't know about Clint, she wondered if she should tell him.

Natasha approached her dad's office and saw that the door was wide open. She approached the doorway and lightly rapped her knuckles on the doorframe. She noticed her dad – seated behind his desk and intently focused on a document – lift his head and set his gaze on his daughter in the doorway.

"Oh, Natasha honey, am I needed in the living room? Has your mom passed her wine limitation for the night?" Mr. Romanoff asked.

"Oh, umm, no, and last I checked, Mom was on her second glass," Natasha said. "I was actually wondering if you had a couple minutes to talk."

"Of course, Natasha!" her father exclaimed as he rose from his chair and came around to the front of his desk. He gestured for Natasha to sit in one of the large and comfy arm chairs while he took a seat on the loveseat.

Natasha hesitated to sit down but eventually crossed the room slowly and lowered herself into one of the arm chairs opposite her father. Though her knee was getting better, it was still a little sore at times so she carefully lifted her leg and rested it on the coffee table in between them. She knew it was bad manners just by the look her father gave her, but she figured he didn't scold her just because she was injured.

"So, darling, is everything okay?" Mr. Romanoff asked casually.

"Yeah, I mean, no. I mean, I'm just very confused," Natasha said, shaking her head.

"About what?" Mr. Romanoff asked as he rose from his seat and headed over to the mini-bar in the corner of his office to pour himself a drink. Natasha watched as he prepared his drink with the fine crystal glass and the sterling silver ice scoop. For some reason, it put her on edge. "I'm listening, Natasha," her father said with his attention still focused on his drink.

"You know what, never mind. This was a bad idea," Natasha said as she carefully pushed herself off of the arm chair and started to make her way to the office door.

"Наташа," she heard her father call her name in a perfect Russian accent. That's when she knew he was making it very clear that he wanted to talk. Hesitantly, Natasha spun around and saw her father staring back at her with his drink in hand. "сидеть," he ordered, pointing to the arm chair she just recently vacated.

Natasha did as she was told and made her way back to the arm chairs to sit down. She didn't rest her leg on the coffee table again so she didn't receive the nasty look from her father again. With a sigh, she bent forward and rested her head in her hands. "I'm a horrible person, Daddy."

"Now why would you say such a thing?" her father asked comfortingly.

"I agreed to something I didn't want to do and now I'm paying the price for it," she whined.

"Okay," her father pressed. "That's awfully vague. Would you care to explain?"

Natasha lifted her head but rested her chin in the palms of her hands. She could finally feel all of those tears from the pressure after all these weeks welling up in her eyes. "It's a long story," she whispered. "And I don't want to tell you because I'm pretty sure you'll think I'm a horrible daughter and will disown me afterwards."

A range of emotions flickered across Mr. Romanoff's face until it settled on one. "What did you do, Наташа?" Mr. Romanoff asked sternly.

"No, nothing like that!" she said quickly, her voice cracking. "I just…I swear you're going to hate me."

"Me? Hate you? Your mother, possibly. But me, I could never hate you," Mr. Romanoff said sincerely.

Natasha let out a nervous laugh at that comment. Unfortunately, it was true. Natasha's mother was currently holding a grudge against Natasha for injuring her knee. Why? Natasha had no clue but that was the way her mother was.

"Наташа, please just tell me," her father begged.

Natasha looked at her father and she could see the sincerity in his eyes. The fact that her father cared so much more than her mother did made Natasha want to cry. She wasn't sure how he was going to react to this.

"I…I don't want to marry Alexei," she whispered.

Natasha's father tilted his head as he looked at her in confusion. "Well why not? He's a fantastic boy and you two love each other."

"No," Natasha said quietly, casting her eyes downward to the floor. "I…I don't love him. I never have. I'm pretty sure I never will."

"Natasha, I'm confused," her father stated.

"I never loved him. I've never even remotely _liked_ him," she said, throwing her hands up in the air. "I've been faking everything to make you and Mom happy."

Mr. Romanoff scratched his chin as he absorbed all the information his daughter had just presented to him. Natasha just desperately hoped it was a good sign.

"Well, Alexei is a fine young boy. He's going places. I would very much like to see you marry him but if you don't want to, that's your choice," Mr. Romanoff said.

Natasha swallowed nervously. She figured he didn't even know the half of it. "But Daddy, there's…more," she said hesitantly. Her father looked at her and nodded his head as if to tell her to continue. She took a deep breath, hesitant to tell him. She didn't want to mention Clint by name for fear if things went downhill in this conversation. She didn't want her father to track Clint down and do God knows what to him. "There's…this other boy. I really like him and he really likes me. He's sweet. He's funny. He's a little awkward at times but I think he really cares about me." Natasha hadn't even realized that as she was talking about Clint, a smile had spread across her face.

Mr. Romanoff nodded. "Well, it seems as if we've got a bit of a predicament here."

"No shit," Natasha huffed.

"Language, young lady," Mr. Romanoff ordered. As Mr. Romanoff contemplated her situation, Natasha watched her father with a nervous disposition. "Well, honey, I can try to help you out but I'm not sure what I can do."

"Can you just break up with Alexei for me? That would make my life a hell of a lot easier," Natasha sighed.

"No," her father said sternly. "As much as I love you, I will not do your dirty work for you. I will, however, try to soften the blow. I know Alexei's parents will not be happy about it and Alexei won't either, but I can try to make it easier for them and for you."

"So, I'm basically in the same position as I was when we started this conversation," Natasha stated.

"I'm afraid so," Mr. Romanoff said sympathetically.

Natasha let out a sigh. "I'm not afraid of hurting him. I really don't care if I hurt him. It's just his reaction that I'm afraid of," Natasha said.

Mr. Romanoff reached forward and rested a hand on her good knee. "You tell me when you're ready to tell him and I'll try to help you as much as I can."

"Thanks, Dad," she muttered unenthusiastically.

Mr. Romanoff was about to say something when Mrs. Romanoff stumbled into the office, spilling a small amount of dark red wine on the hardwood floor. "Oh darlings, there you are!" she said. "My mother and father were wondering if you would like to join in a game of Trivial Pursuit!"

"Oh for God's sake, who has been watching you? How many glasses of wine have you had?" Mr. Romanoff griped as he rose from his perch on the love seat to approach his wife. Natasha watched as her mother burst into a fit of giggles as her father tried to wrestle the glass of wine from her grasp. Within moments, the glass of wine ended up on the floor in a puddle of dark red and a pile of glass.

Mr. Romanoff ushered Mrs. Romanoff out of the office, leaving Natasha alone. She didn't feel like the talk with her father helped her whatsoever. She wanted to end things with Alexei. She so desperately wanted to end things with him. She felt a little better knowing that her father was on her side, but that didn't really help her case.

Ending things with Alexei was the least of her worries. The fact that Alexei had started using again is what really worried her. There was no telling when he'd be strung out so she wasn't sure how he would react if she ended things with him while he was hopped up on coke. It just seemed as if every single time she had taken one step forward, she had to take two steps back.

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**So they're both still in the same positions they were in than when they started. Think Natasha will pluck up the courage to end things with Alexei? Or now that he's using again, do you think she'll chicken out? And how many of you liked that I threw in Clint's archery skills? I hope it fit well haha.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. We'll pick up with the next chapter on Thursday (like usual). There aren't any school events on Thursday or papers that I need to write so I should have the next chapter up on Thursday if everything goes according to plan. Anyways, reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a review to let me know what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys, I probably would've had this up earlier if the latest episode of _Grey's Anatomy_ hadn't hit me right in the Slexie (Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey) feels. That show just hits you right where it hurts. Speaking of hitting you where it hurts, I think this chapter is going to hit you guys right in the Clintasha feels. Therefore, enjoy!**

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It was the weekend after New Year's when Clint decided to buckle down with his schoolwork. He was a senior in high school so he only had until June to get his grades better. He had already filled out college applications so there was no way he could make that better, but he figured he could maybe redeem himself by going out with a bang.

He was lying on his stomach on his bed, staring at his English textbook, when he heard his mother knock on his door.

"Clint, Steve's here to see you," Mrs. Barton said from the other side. Clint was confused. He had just received a text message from Steve not too long ago and he didn't mention stopping by at all. Clint hoped that for whatever reason he was here for, it wasn't a big deal. The last thing Clint needed was a major dilemma on his hands.

"Okay, tell him I'll be right down," Clint said to his mother. He heard her footsteps grow faint as she retreated down the steps. Clint slammed his English textbook shut and set his notebook on top of it. Maybe it was convenient that Steve had stopped by. Clint really needed a break.

Clint rolled off of his bed and headed over to his door to head downstairs. He bounded down both flights of stairs but stopped short when he realized that Steve wasn't here. However, there was someone standing in the middle of his living room waiting patiently for him.

"I know you're mad at me and I know it was wrong for your mom to lie to you about who was here to see you but I figured you wouldn't come down if you knew it was me - ."

"What are you doing here, Tasha?" Clint asked the beautiful red-head as he folded his arms across his chest.

"I know you're pissed but can we please just talk?" she begged.

For a split second, Clint wanted to say no. He didn't understand why she was dragging her feet when it came to breaking things off with Alexei. But then he realized maybe that was why she was here to talk. Maybe Clint would finally find out why she wasn't ending things between her and Alexei.

"Fine," he said. "So talk."

"Umm, do you mind if I…" she trailed off, gesturing towards the couch.

Clint glanced down at her knee, which was still wrapped up in a brace, and figured it would probably be killing her if she stayed standing during their entire talk. "Oh, umm, yeah, go ahead," Clint said finally.

Natasha nodded and she walked over to the couch. Clint watched as she carefully made her way over to the couch. Though her brace allowed her to bend her knee instead of keeping it straight, she still walked with a slight limp.

"How long until you don't have to wear that anymore?" Clint asked curiously as he pointed to her knee.

"Oh, umm, I'll find out during my appointment on Monday. My physical therapist says I'm making good progress," she said as she carefully lowered herself down onto the couch. Clint hadn't even realized he was making his way over to her until he felt himself sit down on top of the coffee table across from her. It was like she had this pull on him. It didn't matter how angry he was with her because she would always reel him back in somehow.

"Okay, so, umm, what did you want to talk about?" Clint asked.

Natasha bowed her head as she focused her gaze on her hands in her lap. "I know you haven't been talking to me because of everything with Alexei."

"Wow, and it took you this long to figure it out?" Clint asked sarcastically.

"I know you also haven't been talking to me because you saw him doing coke after the Sleigh Bells concert," Natasha said matter-of-factly.

"No," Clint said defensively.

"Yes," she retorted firmly as she lifted her head to look at Clint. "I'm not stupid."

Clint blinked back at her blankly. She just always seemed to know everything. Her confidence when he hung out with her for the first time was overwhelming and she just _knew_ that Clint liked her. Now, she was completely confident that Clint had seen Alexei doing coke after the concert, which was true. She just always seemed to know.

Suddenly, her face fell. "I'm scared, Clint," she whispered.

"What?"

"I'm scared. I'm scared because he's doing drugs."

"And you what? You're scared he's going to overdose or something?" Clint shot back.

"No, I'm scared that it's going to be like last time," Natasha said.

Clint hesitated to ask because he was scared as to what she was going to say. "What do you mean like last time?"

Natasha drew in a ragged, deep breath before shakily letting it out. "When I first started dating Alexei, he was using and things didn't go well," she said vaguely.

"Well what did he do?" The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he was prying too much. Natasha was here to talk but he wanted her to talk about what she wanted to talk about. He didn't want to pressure her, no matter how much he wanted to know.

"He, umm, he did…a little too much," she said, her voice shaking.

"You don't have to tell me. It was stupid for me to ask," Clint said suddenly.

"It was just…it was bad," she pressed on.

"He overdosed. I get it," Clint said.

"No," she said bluntly. "No, no, no, no, no." She shook her head as she repeated the word "no" over and over again.

"Okay, okay, Nat. Nat!" he snapped as he leaned forward to gently cradle her face in his hands. Her tantalizing green eyes bore into Clint's. They were glassy and the rims of her eyes were red. Tears were threatening to spill over any second.

Just the sight of her made Clint's heart break and that's when he finally admitted to himself that he was in love with Natasha Romanoff. He didn't want to see her hurt. He didn't want to see her cry. Whatever happened with Alexei and her in the past, it was going to affect Clint greatly.

"It was bad," she choked out again.

"So let's talk about something else then," Clint said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

Natasha just slowly shook her head in response. "He's a horrible person when he's on drugs, Clint," she whispered.

"Most people are," Clint said.

Natasha stared at Clint with sad eyes for a couple seconds before shaking her head to get away from Clint's grasp. Without a word, Natasha peeled off her coat and set it on the couch. She took a deep breath before pulling down the collar of her shirt to reveal a thin, long white scar spanning from the front of her shoulder to just below the end of her collarbone.

Clint recoiled from Natasha as he felt his jaw drop. She didn't have to say anything to let him know who inflicted that pain upon her. "You've got to be fucking kidding me," Clint heard himself choke out.

"He did a little too much and I said something so minor that made him snap," she said. She paused as she drew in a ragged, half-sobbing breath. Clint sat in silence, in complete shock, as he saw the terror and pain in her eyes as she recalled the memory. "He got mad, and he came at me with a knife. It was originally intended for my throat but I ducked out of the way and this was the result."

Clint shook his head in disbelief. If he didn't like Alexei before, he absolutely loathed him now. The first thing Clint realized was that Natasha couldn't stay with him anymore. Clint didn't want to risk her safety. Clint would feel a lot better knowing that she wasn't with Alexei anymore, even if that meant she had to stay away from Clint himself just to keep the conflict to a minimum.

But the second thing Clint realized was why she was telling Clint this story. Now that Alexei was back on drugs, she wouldn't end things with him out of fear that he would hurt her again. Clint didn't want Natasha with Alexei but either way he looked at it, he figured she could get hurt. If she broke up with him, he would snap instantly. If she stayed with him, it was only a matter of time until he snapped over something minor she did.

"Please don't make me go back to him, Clint," she pleaded. "Please, please, please don't make me do it." At that point, she had reached her breaking point. She buried her face in her hands and began to sob. Feeling his heart break, he moved over to the couch next to her and pulled her into his arms.

"He didn't even remember," Natasha cried through the tears. "He didn't even remember what he did. I never told my parents. I had to go to the hospital for stitches but I went alone and somehow persuaded the nurses and doctors to not call my parents. I just cover up the scar with a lot of makeup. But I know if I tell them, they would be the ones to end things between Alexei and I. But I just…I just…can't!"

Clint hugged her closer to him as she rested her head on his chest. She was scared. That was her problem. Clint realized this was just like one of those ridiculous Lifetime movies his mother always watched. Unfortunately, this was so very real at the moment and Clint wasn't sure what to do about it.

"Don't make me go back. Don't make me go back. Don't make me go back," she repeated over and over again when she'd eventually calmed herself down.

"I don't want you to go back, Tasha, but I think you have to," Clint said, even though it pained him to. Clint heard her let out a high-pitched whimper and he hugged her even closer. He didn't want to let go out of fear that she would disappear from his life forever.

"Can we just…" she trailed off. She took a deep breath as she rested a hand on Clint's chest. "Can we just stay here, like this, for the rest of the day?" She turned her head so that her green eyes connected with Clint's.

As stupid as it sounded, Clint could look into her green eyes all day, so he didn't mind one bit that she had asked to spend the rest of the day with him. He just nodded his head in response and adjusted his position so that he and Natasha were more comfortable.

When it came to Natasha, Clint didn't care about all the weird looks that his parents and Barney gave him as they walked through the living room. Clint knew that Natasha had to return home eventually, but at the moment, she was in his arms and he knew she was okay. It was going to be hell when she returned home and he wouldn't know if she was okay or not. But for now, in his arms was where she was going to stay until she decided to leave. When that would be, Clint didn't know, but he just hoped it wouldn't be anytime soon.

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**Oooooh, the drama builds and the plot thickens. Natasha's 18th birthday is coming up and I believe I'm going to make it 2 chapters (so it will be chapters 14 and 15). If need be, it'll run into chapter 16 too but it will definitely be 2 chapters long. By the way, if you guys want a song that gives you major Clintasha feels (at least, it gives me major Clintasha feels) listen to Adele's new song "Skyfall." Yes, it's the original song for the new James Bond movie, but good God, everything is Clintasha and nothing hurts!**

**Anyways, as always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave a review to let me know what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**It's Natasha's 18th birthday! Hooray! I think this chapter will give you Clintasha feels (but then again, I hope this entire fic gives you Clintasha feels) and just remember that Natasha's 18th birthday isn't over by the end of this chapter. There's more to come in chapter 15 and I REALLY think you're going to like that. But for now, enjoy!**

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Every day was like a living hell for Natasha. When she wasn't at school or at physical therapy for her knee, she was with Alexei. When he wasn't strung out on drugs, he was his usual annoying and clingy self. When he was strung out on drugs, he was alert and hyper. Natasha never knew which Alexei she was going to get when she met up with him and that usually scared her to her core.

Things had been partially looking up the week of Natasha's 18th birthday. Not only would she be a legal adult who could vote and buy lottery tickets, but she had made a significant amount of progress at physical therapy that she was told she didn't have to wear the brace anymore. She could now wear whatever she wanted without it totally clashing with her ensemble. As ridiculous as that sounded, Natasha couldn't help but think how stupid she always looked with the brace on. Now that it was gone, she could wear her nice dresses again with sky high heels.

Another thing that made the week better were the texts that were always waiting for her on her phone from Clint. Usually Natasha contacted him because she didn't want to risk Alexei looking at her phone and seeing a text from some guy that wasn't him. Now that Alexei had some sort of a clue as to whom Clint was and the fact that Clint was worried Alexei would do something to her, she didn't care that Clint was instigating the texting instead of it being the other way around.

However, as Natasha's birthday drew closer, she couldn't help but feel extremely disappointed. The last people Natasha wanted to be spending her 18th birthday with were her parents, Alexei, and Alexei's parents. Since Clint had been texting her all week, all she really wanted to do was escape to Brooklyn with him on her 18th birthday. Even if her father was on her side, her mother would never allow it.

So as she stood in front of her racks upon racks of clothes in her walk-in closet, she couldn't help but dread her birthday dinner. The last time she had dinner with Alexei and his parents, Alexei had proposed to her. She just desperately hoped that it was a normal dinner and Alexei didn't pull any stunts on her this time around.

She yanked a tight red dress from its hanger and carefully stepped into it. She adjusted the straps and smoothed it out before turning her attention to the racks of shoes on the opposite side of the closet. Now that she was able to wear whatever shoes she wanted, she was definitely going to have difficulty choosing what color of shoes she'd want to wear. Normally with a red dress, she would wear black strappy heels and given how simple or extravagant the dress was, she would choose how intricate her shoes were too. But since she couldn't wear her favorite pair of heels for a while, she grabbed the pair of gold metallic strappy heels and strapped them onto her feet.

When her shoes were fastened to her feet, she turned to her left to glance at herself in the full-length mirror. It had been weeks since she could actually dress herself to the nines. She had put some effort in when she went to the Sleigh Bells concert, but otherwise, she hadn't really done much with her appearance.

_Now if only I were spending my birthday with people I actually gave a shit about_, Natasha thought to herself.

Natasha sighed as she turned and walked into her room. She gathered up her phone and other necessary items and shoved them into her clutch. She transferred some cash from her wallet into her clutch; she always did this in case of an emergency. When she was finally ready, she grabbed her coat and her clutch and left her bedroom to meet her parents in the living room.

As usual, her parents were waiting for her; she was always the last one to be ready. For the millionth time that day, they pulled her into a hug and wished her a happy birthday. Natasha's mother looked like she was going to cry again as she started ranting about how her little girl was all grown up, and Natasha's father just rolled his eyes at his wife's ridiculous behavior.

When Mrs. Romanoff had composed herself, everyone gathered up their belongings and headed downstairs to hail a cab for the Shostakov household. When a taxi pulled up to the curb, the Romanoffs piled into the car and Mr. Romanoff rattled off the address to the Shostakov's building. The driver pulled away from the curb and headed down Park Avenue to turn around to get to Fifth.

"Oh what do you think they'll have for us tonight?" Mrs. Romanoff cooed. Natasha rolled her eyes at her mom's shallow behavior. For the duration of the short ride to the Shostakov's apartment building, Mrs. Romanoff raved about the last dinner they had and how rich and delicious it was. Natasha – not amused with her mother's ranting and raving – blankly stared out the window of the cab. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"This was lovely, Mr. and Mrs. Shostakov. Thank you," Natasha said with a fake smile. In all honesty, the food wasn't as great as her mom raved about and it never was. Alexei's mom was wearing a god awful high-end designer dress and Alexei's father had eaten like a pig. All Natasha wanted to do was tell them what awful people they were. But, of course, she had to play the part.

"Oh we're not even finished!" Mrs. Shostakov exclaimed. "We got you a lovely cake, custom made by Buddy himself from Carlo's Bakery!"

"Oh you didn't have to do that," Natasha said with a wave of her hand.

"Natasha, sweetie, it's your birthday!" Mrs. Shostakov announced cheerfully. "You deserve a cake." Mrs. Shostakov clapped her hands three times in a row. Instantly, the staff appeared to clear the dishes from the table.

When Natasha dropped her arms to her sides to allow the staff to clear her spot at the table, she felt Alexei's fingers intertwine with hers and Natasha stiffened. All throughout dinner, Alexei had been trying to get her attention or say stuff in conversation to make her talk to him, but Natasha never responded. He knew she was pissed that he had started doing drugs again, but her opinion never mattered to him.

Within minutes, the table was cleared and the staff was bringing out a cake with 18 candles lit on it. The dinner guests marveled at the cake as they set it in front of Natasha. It was a round cake with light purple icing and white polka dot fondant. Natasha had to admit that it did look delicious so she figured maybe this dinner party wasn't so bad. Dessert wise, at least. As for the dinner guests themselves, they made her want to bash her head against a wall continuously.

Alexei, his parents, and Natasha's parents, along with some of the staff, began singing "Happy Birthday" to Natasha. When they finished, they told her to make a wish. For a second, Natasha stared at the dinner guests blankly before realizing what she wanted to wish for. She just desperately hoped _something_ would get in the way of the rest of this dinner so she could escape to Brooklyn.

Never in a million years did she think she would fall in love with Brooklyn, not mention fall in love with a boy from Brooklyn. She just yearned for escape and her heart yearned for Clint. Of all people she wanted to spend time with on her 18th birthday, it wasn't her parents or her supposed-to-be fiancé and his family. It was Clint.

So Natasha closed her eyes and made her wish. She opened her eyes and drew in as much air as she could to blow out her candles. She let out the big breath as she blew out the candles. Fortunately, she didn't miss one and they weren't trick candles; all of the candles were extinguished.

Alexei, his parents, and Natasha's parents applauded and an arm reached out from behind Natasha to take the cake away so it could be served.

"So Natasha," Natasha heard Mr. Shostakov say. She turned her head to face the head of the table where Mr. Shostakov sat. He was smoothing out his cloth napkin on his lap. When he caught that Natasha was looking at him, he cleared his throat and continued. "Did you get anything exciting for your birthday?"

"Oh, nothing really. My parents got me a new Chanel bag and my grandparents sent me a check, but that was about it," Natasha said with a shrug.

"Well, while we're waiting for the cake to be served, I'd like to present your gift to you from all of us." Mr. Shostakov reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to Alexei to pass it to Natasha. Alexei held it out for Natasha as she hesitated to take it. Alexei poked her in the arm with the envelope and only then did she take it.

"Umm, thank you," Natasha said finally. She set the envelope on the table but when she glanced back up at the dinner guests, everyone was staring at her.

"Natasha, you can open it here. In fact, we would prefer it if you opened it here," Mr. Shostakov said.

"Oh, umm, okay," Natasha said uneasily as she grabbed the envelope and carefully began tearing at the flap. When she had fully torn open the envelope, she noticed there was a small piece of paper inside, a check. She pulled it out of the envelope and turned it over to check the value. What she saw made her jaw drop to the floor.

"You're going to be part of the family now so you should receive presents as if you are part of the family already," Mr. Shostakov noted.

"But that's – that's quite a lot of money," Natasha choked out, her eyes still focused on the check.

"What? Ten thousand dollars? That's chump change!" Mr. Shostakov scoffed.

Natasha shook her head in disbelief as she continued to stare at the check. The Shostakovs carelessly threw away money while Natasha and her family – though they were very wealthy – handled their money with care.

Honestly, she was irritated. She would not have been surprised if part of this was Alexei's idea to try to buy her love. He knew she was slipping away from him and he was trying to buy her back. She figured that was the plan but Alexei couldn't fool her.

Natasha was about to say something when the staff invaded the room and started to serve the cake. Natasha stared at the slice of cake when one of the staff members placed it in front of her. She just shook her head and muttered a "thank you" to Mr. Shostakov and began to devour her cake.

Even though she so desperately wanted to enjoy it, she couldn't get her mind off of the check that would be burning a hole in her clutch for the rest of eternity. She couldn't cash it. She wouldn't cash it because even though it was birthday gift, she didn't want Alexei's family's money. She didn't like them so she didn't want their money.

When Natasha had finished her cake, she wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin in her lap and excused herself from the table. She tossed the cloth napkin onto the table and exited the room to head elsewhere. Anywhere else was perfectly fine with her.

As she headed into the sitting room of the Shostakov apartment, she could feel the $10,000 check burning a hole through her hand. She spotted her clutch on the seat of an armchair and she immediately grabbed it. She balled up the check and chucked it into her clutch, snapping it shut.

"Are you okay, Natasha?" she heard her father say from behind her. She jumped and spun around to find him standing in the entrance to the sitting room. Her father knew something was wrong, and if she wanted to tell him, now was the perfect time.

"I don't want to be here anymore," she blurted out with a sigh.

"Well where would you like to be?" her father asked.

Natasha took a moment to collect her thoughts before she realized that now was her chance. Now was the opportunity to escape. Her dad understood her a little better ever since their talk about her hopes to end things with Alexei. Maybe if she told him that she wanted to leave, to escape, he would let her.

"I want to go see…that boy," Natasha said uneasily. She still wouldn't mention Clint's name to her father out of fear if something bad happened, Mr. Romanoff wouldn't go track Clint down. "I don't want to be around Alexei," she continued. "I feel uncomfortable getting handed a $10,000 check as a birthday present. I don't feel comfortable being around Alexei anymore. I just want to see…him."

Mr. Romanoff eyed Natasha as he contemplated what to say. Natasha hoped that maybe her wish would come true. She just hoped her father would come to her rescue.

"Alright," Mr. Romanoff said finally. "You can go."

"W-what?" she asked, taken off guard by her father's response.

"Go," he ordered. "It's your birthday. You should be able to do whatever you want."

"Well what are you going to tell Mom and Alexei and - ."

"I'll tell them that the cake icing was a little too rich for you or something," Mr. Romanoff said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Natasha looked at her father in disbelief. He was actually agreeing to let her go. It was Natasha's birthday and she should be able to do whatever she wanted. She was 18-years-old after all. But she just never thought her father would be okay with her running off to do whatever she wanted with a guy that wasn't her fiancé.

"Are…are you sure?" she asked.

"Go, Natasha," he ordered.

Natasha nodded her head as she grabbed her coat and her clutch. She pulled her coat on as she made her way across the room. She stopped in front of her father and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "Thank you," she mumbled. She felt him wrap his arms around her and pat her on the back before releasing her to give her a little push towards the door.

With one last look at her father, she headed down the hall and out the door. She jammed her finger on the button to call the elevator and the doors immediately slid open. She quickly pressed the button for the main floor and the elevator began its descent as soon as the doors slid shut.

Once she reached the lobby, she bolted for the doors. The moment she stepped outside, she felt a sense of relief. She felt like she could finally breathe. Cars and taxis whizzed by on Fifth Avenue and Natasha instinctively reached into her clutch to check how much money she exactly brought with her. When her fingers grazed against the check, she took it out of the clutch, smoothed it out, and then tore it to pieces. She chucked the shredded paper into the nearest trash can before counting how much money she had. Fortunately, she had just enough to pay for a one-way trip to Brooklyn.

Stepping to the edge of the sidewalk, Natasha held out her hand to hail a cab. Immediately, a taxi skidded to a halt at the curb and Natasha jumped into the backseat. She shouted out her destination to the driver. She sat back and relaxed as she watched Manhattan disappear behind her.

* * *

Clint groaned as he slid underneath the Corvette to check on a part that he may or may not have screwed up. Currently his parents were in Maine with some friends from work so Clint had been courteous enough to offer to do some minor work on the Corvette while his father was away. Clint didn't know much about cars but he knew some things that would make his father's work a little easier when he came back.

Clint could've been elsewhere tonight. He could've gone to a party with Steve, Thor, and Bruce, but like the sweet son he was, he offered to work on his dad's car. Clint didn't mind. He had to admit it was nice being just him. He was glad Barney was spending a weekend with one of his friends from high school too so he didn't have his annoying older brother bugging him. Clint could blast his music as loud as he wanted. He could watch TV in the living room until two o'clock in the morning. He could sleep naked for all he cared. Having the house to himself for the weekend sounded pretty good.

"Hello?"

Clint accidentally banged his forehead against a part of the car when he heard that voice. He had no clue as to who it was and he wasn't sure what they were doing in his garage, or how they got there. At first, Clint nearly hesitated to push himself out from under the car because he wasn't sure who to expect. He racked his brain as he tried to remember if he locked the front door and fortunately, he did. Whoever it was must have known about the key taped underneath the porch swing.

That's when it hit him. He knew _exactly_ who the voice belonged to, and he felt stupid for not even realizing it instantly. There was only one other person outside of his family and close neighbors that knew about that key, mostly because he had forgotten his keys to the house one time he had been hanging out with this person.

Excitedly, Clint pushed himself out from underneath the car, quickly rubbing the spot on his forehead where he had hit it on the car, and sat up. He rested his back against the front bumper of the car as he focused his gaze on the beautiful red-headed Natasha Romanoff standing in the doorway of the garage.

* * *

**Ah, reunited on her 18th birthday. What kind of shenanigans do you think they'll get into? I know what they're going to do but you'll have to wait until tomorrow hee hee ;). Speaking of tomorrow, I'm going to my school's football game (Go Owls!). I'm going to start chapter 15 now so maybe that will make it easier for me to finish chapter 15 after the game. If I don't post chapter 15 tomorrow, I'm sorry in advanced.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you think!**


	15. Chapter 15

**My school won their football game! Hooray! And it was homecoming nonetheless! Therefore, I was too revved up to update last night. But, I have chapter 15 here for you guys. It's still Natasha's birthday and I think you guys are going to get major Clintasha feels. Enjoy!**

* * *

Not that he minded, but Clint didn't understand why Natasha was standing in the doorway of his garage. He knew it was her birthday today – he had sent her a text message earlier that day wishing her happy birthday – so he figured she'd be spending time with her family and friends. Therefore, Clint was confused as to why she was here, in Brooklyn, in his garage.

"Hey, umm, what are…what are you doing here?" Clint said as he pushed himself up off the ground.

"Oh you know, I was just passing through Brooklyn so I thought I'd stop by," she said with a smirk.

"Ah," was all Clint said. He would've had some snarky comeback if he hadn't been so engaged in the fact that she was standing in front of him. That, and the fact that the dress she was wearing just made him love her even more. Her tight red dress hugged every curve on her body and it hit just above her knees to show off her toned dancer's legs.

"Well, don't act all surprised to see me," she said sarcastically.

"Sorry, I just…I mean, you caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting you to stop by," he said.

Natasha smirked. "It was kind of a spur of the moment thing."

Clint chuckled. "Yeah, it seems like it was," he said. They stood in an awkward silence in the garage, the only noise coming from the iPod dock in the corner of the room. Even though Clint was happy he had the house to himself this weekend, he was pretty happy that Natasha came by. As much as he didn't mind the odds stares and snide comments from his parents and Barney, he found them to be pretty annoying. Without his parents and Barney around, Clint and Natasha could be in their own elements around each other.

"So, umm, did you have a good birthday?" Clint asked as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Natasha nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. "It was okay," she said. "It kind of sucked at first, but it got better."

"Oh yeah?" Clint said. "Why did it suck? I mean, you know, besides the obvious reasons."

Clint watched as Natasha bit her lower lip nervously before casting her eyes down the floor of the garage. "It sucked because I wasn't with you," she whispered.

No matter how many times he heard her say it, he still didn't want to believe it. The moment he had met her, he had had an instant attraction to her. Over time, he had fallen in love with her and he had fallen hard for her. However, he never expected her to fall for him. He knew she was different than the rest of the stuck up rich girls from the Upper East Side, but he never thought she was _that_ different. She surprised him every single day.

"Actually," she said as she lifted her head to meet his gaze, "you were my birthday wish. Well, sort of. I wished I could come to Brooklyn to be with you and my dad let me leave. I know it sounds stupid but you were my wish."

"Well, I guess you're lucky I didn't go out tonight," Clint said with a nervous laugh. Suddenly, he didn't regret turning down the offer to go to a party. He was glad he decided to stay home.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Natasha said. She took a hesitant step into the garage as she glanced around. "So, what are you up to?" She took a couple more steps into the garage until she reached to Corvette. She ran a hand over the hood of the car before looking back over at Clint for a response.

"Oh, umm, just fixing up my dad's car. Well, his father's car, my grandpa," Clint said.

"It's nice," Natasha said. She walked around the front of the car, still running her hand over the hood of the car as she did so. Clint watched as she slowly continued around the front of the car until she stopped at the driver's side. "How long until it's ready to be driven?"

"Umm, not for a while," Clint said as he watched her brush her fingers against the handle to the driver's side door. She hesitated before wrapping her fingers around the handle and then pulling the door open. He watched her slide into the driver's seat and get comfortable before shooting him a look that meant he should join her.

Clint hesitated before he walked to the passenger side to open the door and slide in. He shut the door and glanced over at Natasha, who was looking around the interior of the car in awe. "If the car worked, would you take me on a ride in it?" she asked.

Clint let out a nervous laugh. "I'd have to ask my dad first. It's his car."

"He'd let you," she said, directing her gaze to Clint. "He likes me so he'd let you."

"How do you know?"

"I'm not stupid, Clint," she said matter-of-factly. He should've known she'd say that. It was like some sort of catchphrase for her when it came to talking to Clint.

"No, you're not," Clint agreed.

Natasha giggled and he saw her turn her body towards him out of the corner of his eye. "So, did you get me anything for my birthday?"

"No," Clint said with a chuckle. "Sorry. I didn't expect you to stop by."

"I'm hurt that you didn't even think of me," she said, jutting out her lower lip in a pout.

Clint couldn't help but find Natasha incredibly adorable as she faked her pout. Clint wondered if he would ever find something about her that didn't make her seem attractive to him. He didn't realize he'd been staring until he noticed her pout disappear. He knew she didn't mind the staring. In fact, she had to be used to it by now but he realized that she was staring right back. Clint glanced from her lips to her eyes and saw those beautiful green eyes that he had fallen in love with. Their gazes locked and their eyes searched one another's. Clint didn't even realize he had been leaning towards her until he noticed she was doing it as well.

He wanted this. He wanted her, but there was the part of him that still nagged him that she was engaged, even though she didn't even like the guy. He knew she wanted it too. She wanted them, but there was a part of her that was holding her back.

"Wait, Tasha, wait," Clint muttered when his lips were inches from hers.

"What?" she asked, looking up at Clint from underneath her eyelashes.

"Have you done anything about Alexei yet?"

"Clint…" she said as she slightly pulled away from him.

"I just worry about you," he said.

"You don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself," she said.

"Really?" Clint said as he brushed his fingers over the area underneath her collarbone where he knew the scar from the knife was. He couldn't see it because she had coated it with a hefty amount of makeup but he knew it was there.

"That was intended for my throat, remember?"

"He still hurt you."

"Clint, I'm fine," she said through clenched teeth. She drew in a deep breath as she closed her eyes. "Clint, it's my birthday. Can we please not talk about this?" She reopened her eyes, her green eyes connecting with his blue-grey ones. "I came here so I could escape this. Please don't bring it up." He felt her hand cup the side of his face before feeling it slither around to the back of his neck.

That's when Clint gave up. No matter how many times he brought it up, it was going to be a sore subject for her. He knew the memories she had that involved Alexei were painful, but that was the reason Clint wanted to talk about it. He wanted to help her through it, but he knew that now was not the time. She had a point. It was her birthday and Alexei was the last person she wanted to spend time with on her birthday, let alone talk about. So Clint dropped the subject and felt himself give in.

He felt his lips connect with hers and everything in him exploded. This was nothing like the first time they'd kissed. That was certainly explosive and magical but there was something different about this kiss. It was eager and urgent. It was romantic and passionate. It was everything they ever wanted between the two of them.

Clint knew this kiss was different when Natasha didn't do her signature lip bite. Instead, the kiss just grew more heated. He felt Natasha grab a fistful of his shirt and tug. That's when Clint realized what was so different about this. That's when Clint realized what she really wanted.

Clint quickly broke away from Natasha, his forehead resting against hers and his eyes looking into her green ones. He swallowed out of nervousness as he prepared himself to say what he couldn't believe what he was going to say. "Do – do you maybe want to go inside?" he asked.

"It's kind of cold out here," she whispered in agreement. "It is January, after all."

Clint nodded and then he pulled away from her so he could push open the door and slide out of the car. He heard her do the same and they both slammed their doors at the same time. They both made their way over to the garage door and Clint quickly grabbed Natasha by the hand. He pulled her out of the garage, but not before flicking the light switch to turn the lights off. They walked at a fast pace to the back door of Clint's house. Clint led Natasha up the steps but allowed her to step inside his house first.

The moment Clint shut the door, Natasha pushed him up against it and attacked his lips with hers. Clint noticed how reminiscent this was of the night of the Sleigh Bells concert. Only this time around, they didn't have anyone to interrupt them. There wouldn't be anyone banging on the door or they wouldn't have to worry about getting caught by Alexei. Clint's parents were gone for the weekend and Barney was in Syracuse visiting a friend from high school. There was no one to interrupt them.

"Do you maybe…want to go…upstairs?" Clint asked breathlessly in between kisses.

"Mhmmm," was all Natasha managed to reply. She stepped back and Clint grabbed her by the hand once again to lead her through his house and up both flights of stairs.

They burst into Clint's room and Clint immediately shut the door behind them. It was only them in the house, but it was out of habit that Clint needed his door closed. When he turned around to face Natasha, she was standing in the middle of the room with one arm crossed over her stomach and her hand clasped around her upper arm. She looked nervous, as if she wasn't quite sure what she had gotten herself into.

"Nat, are you okay?" Clint asked hesitantly.

"Are we…" she started but trailed off. She took a deep breath before she continued. "Are we really going to do this?"

"Do you want to?" Clint asked. If she didn't want this to happen, he wasn't going to pressure her. Alexei was probably like that, and the last thing Clint wanted to do was be like Alexei no matter how much he wanted her.

Natasha cast her eyes down to the floor and just shrugged her shoulders. Clint didn't know who this person was that was standing in front of him. The Natasha he knew was always so confident, but the girl that was standing in front of him right now looked scared and vulnerable.

Clint crossed the room and gently grabbed her by the shoulders. When she didn't look up, he placed a finger underneath her chin to lift her head so that she was looking into his eyes. "If you don't want this, tell me."

"I haven't…" she trailed off with a sigh. "I've never…" she trailed off again. She was nervous as to how Clint would take the news that she was still a virgin. Surely he was under the impression that she wasn't but he needed to know. It was better to tell him now than for him to find out the hard way. "I'm still…a virgin," she mumbled incoherently as she looked down at the floor. She was afraid to meet his gaze out of fear of what reactions would be displayed across his face.

Natasha Romanoff, the most confident and flirtatious girl Clint Barton had ever met, was still a virgin. She had never had sex, and here she was standing in front of him, embarrassed over the whole fact that she had never had sex. "Look, we don't have to, okay?" Clint said. "We can just…go to sleep or something."

"I know it's none of my business," she said suddenly, her gaze still focused on the floor, "but are you still…" It was a personal question but she hoped that maybe it would calm her nerves. She wanted Clint in more ways than one but she needed to sort a few things out first.

"I've never had sex either, if that's what you're asking," he said. Natasha felt like she could let out a sigh of relief. She was still incredibly nervous but the fact that she and Clint were on the same page made her feel slightly less jittery. "Tasha," she heard Clint say softly. She lifted her head and her eyes met his. "If you don't want to, don't do it because of me. But if we do, I promise I'll stop if you want me to. You won't have to worry about me hurting you."

"You promise?" she whispered.

"I promise, Nat," he said.

After much internal deliberation, Natasha took a deep breath and nodded. Clint took that as a sign to continue and he slowly leaned in to kiss her. Natasha was scared but all of her worries melted away when Clint's lips collided with hers. She felt his arms snake around her waist and she leaned into him, eventually wrapping her arms around his neck.

Natasha's heart started to race out of nervousness when they began backing up towards the bed. When the backs of her legs hit the bed, she felt Clint's arms wrap around her and he slowly lowered her down on the bed. She knew that if she were doing this with Alexei, she would be ten times more nervous at the moment. But Clint was being so incredibly gentle and careful with her so it eased her nerves.

It felt like an eternity until they started to slowly take each other's clothes off. Natasha peeled off her coat when Clint started to carefully tug at her dress. She immediately sat up for him to unzip the back of her dress. He slid the dress off of her, leaving her in a matching black lace bra and underwear set.

Natasha grew nervous when she realized that she most likely had to be the one to undress him. That was how the girls at school talked about sex. The boy undressed the girl and the girl undressed the boy. Since Clint had already done his part, Natasha realized that she had to do something. With shaking hands, she tugged at the back of his t-shirt and pulled. She pulled the t-shirt over his head and carelessly tossed it on the floor, leaving him in just his jeans.

That was when she actually got a good look at Clint Barton, the boy from Brooklyn. She had fallen in love with his personality but his body was beyond gorgeous. His torso was well sculpted and toned but not too much like some of the Hollywood actors who went overboard. His shoulders were broad and his arms looked strong.

"Nat," she heard Clint say. She tore her eyes away from his torso to look into his eyes. "We can stop. We don't have to - ."

She cut him off by pulling his head down so his lips could meet hers. She had a sudden spur of confidence as she kissed him back fiercely. One of his hands cupped the side of her face and she ran her hands down his chest so she could unbutton his jeans. She started to fumble with the button and she felt Clint's hand brush over hers to help her.

She finally managed to undo the button and Clint slid his jeans off himself, leaving him only in his boxers. Natasha looked into his eyes longingly before she slid back on the bed. Clint followed her and then crawled on top of her before resuming kissing her. They spent several minutes like that until Clint's lips left hers and he began trailing kisses down her body.

Natasha moaned with pleasure as she felt his lips explore her body. His lips lingered on the scar on her collarbone before continuing down to her stomach. She couldn't control the butterflies she felt when Clint's lips lingered on her stomach.

She felt Clint's lips disappear from her body for a couple seconds until she felt him kiss her battered knees. Natasha smiled at the gesture as she felt him trail kisses down her legs. She felt him unfasten the straps to her heels and she heard them land on the floor with a _thud_. The mattress creaked as Clint crawled on top of her again. He brushed a stray hair out of her face and he smiled at her.

"I know you're scared, Nat. We don't have to do this," he whispered.

Natasha rolled her eyes. The amount of security she felt with Clint was overwhelming and her confidence was in overdrive. "Just kiss me, you idiot," she whispered.

Clint hesitated before smiling at her and attacking her lips. One by one, the final articles of clothing were removed and chucked on the floor. They tore at the covers and burrowed underneath as they took the next step in what they considered their relationship.

* * *

_It was a dream. It was all a dream. When I open my eyes, the bed's going to be empty and I'm hopefully going to have clothes on_, Clint thought the moment he woke up the next morning. He hoped it was real. There was no way he could've dreamt that. His mind was nowhere near that creative. So as Clint opened his eyes and shifted slightly, he faced reality, the reality that it was all real.

Curled up next to him, fast asleep and with a hand resting on his bare chest, was Natasha. Clint smiled to himself at the sight of waking up with her next to him. She was all he ever wanted since the moment he laid eyes on her. In this moment, she was his because she could never be his officially, at least, not until she ended things with Alexei, if she ever ended things with Alexei.

Natasha stirred from beside him and he watched her rub her eyes to wake herself up. She rested her hand on Clint's chest again before craning her neck to face him. He was greeted with her bright green eyes before he saw her smile. He couldn't believe this was reality.

"Morning," she said with a smile.

"Morning," Clint said. "Did you sleep okay?"

"That was the best night's sleep I've had in a while," she said matter-of-factly.

"Hmmm, I wonder why," Clint mused sarcastically. Natasha lightly shoved Clint before she snuggled into his chest again.

"Don't make me go back," she whined. "I want to stay her with you, like this, for all of eternity."

Clint chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. "You have to go back eventually, Tasha. We can't have your parents filing a missing persons report."

"Yes they could because they'd never think to look in Brooklyn and they don't even know your name. We're all good," she joked.

Clint chuckled. "You know what, Nat. I've always wondered why you like Brooklyn so much. You know, besides the fact that I live here."

"Everything's so much simpler here. It's easier. You're family is actually a family and things just make sense here," she said with a shrug of her shoulder.

Clint just nodded his head in understanding and stared at the ceiling. They lied in bed in silence as they just enjoyed being in each other's arms. Natasha watched as Clint's chest rose and fell with every breath he took and she could feel him lightly brushing his fingers against her spine.

It was several minutes later when they heard a door slam from downstairs and they both sat bolt upright in bed. They turned to face each other, both with eyes wide with shock.

"What time is it?" Clint asked as he reached for his phone on the bedside table. He pressed a button to light up the screen and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. "Shit! It's two o'clock in the afternoon."

"Two o'clock?" Natasha breathed nervously. Her parents were no doubt wondering where she was. She didn't even want to think about how Alexei was reacting to it. With the sheet still pressed up against her chest, she scooted to the edge of the bed to pick up her bra and underwear that was lying on the floor. She pulled them on as quickly as possible before getting up from the bed to find her dress and shoes.

"Shit!" Clint cussed again. "How the fuck am I going to get you out of the house?"

"Just distract whoever is in the house and then I can sneak out," she said as she pulled her dress on. She slipped into her sandals and quickly fastened them to her feet.

Clint leaned over and grabbed his boxers from the floor. He wrestled them onto his body from underneath the covers and then rolled out of bed to grab the rest of his clothes. He stumbled into his clothes from last night as he watched Natasha pull on her coat. Quickly, Clint grabbed a sweatshirt from his dresser and he pulled it on before meeting Natasha by his bedroom door. He had just rested his hand on the doorknob when Natasha pulled him in for a kiss.

"I'll meet you around the corner, okay?" Clint said once they pulled away from one another. Natasha nodded in understanding and then they quietly made their way down both flights of stairs. When they were close to the bottom of the second flight of steps, Clint held up a hand as if to tell her to wait. He walked down the rest of the stairs and waltzed into the kitchen.

Natasha heard him strike up a conversation with his father and she waited a couple minutes before tip toeing down the steps and out the front door. She made sure the door didn't slam and then she quickly ran down the steps and down the sidewalk. She didn't stop until she reached the corner.

The moment she stopped running, she could feel the freezing cold January air creeping through her jacket and nipping at her bare legs. She hoped Clint wouldn't be long because she didn't like the cold. She would give him a few more minutes until she called a cab to pick her up.

As if on cue, she saw Clint jogging down the sidewalk towards her. He came to a halt in front of her just as she was pulling out her phone to call a cab. Now that he was here, she could say her goodbyes in the amount of time it would take for a taxi to arrive.

"So, when do you think I'll see you again?" Clint asked.

Natasha shrugged. "I don't know," she said disappointedly. "I hope sometime soon."

"Maybe next weekend?" Clint asked hopefully.

"We'll see," Natasha said. "I just hope I'm not going to be forced to do family stuff next weekend since I decided to avoid everyone on my birthday."

"Well, text me when you find out if you're free, okay?" Clint asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" she asked.

"Just…let me know, okay?"

Natasha nodded before grabbing the collar of his sweatshirt and pulling him down for a kiss. This was probably the last kiss they would have for who knows how long, so Natasha was going to make it worth her while. She wanted to remember what this feeling was like. She wanted to remember what it felt like for someone to actually genuinely like her. No, for someone to actually genuinely _love_ her.

Out of the corner of her eye, Natasha saw a cab pull up to the curb. As much as she didn't want to, she pulled away from Clint. She flashed him a small smile before he pulled her in for another quick kiss.

"Clint, I've got to go," she giggled against the kiss.

"Fine," he whined. He pulled away from her and he felt her hand slip from his. He hadn't even realized he had been holding her hand until he felt it disappear from his grasp. With one last look at Clint, Natasha slid into the cab and realized that it was back to reality for the both of them.

* * *

**So they had sex. How romantic. But trust me, things are just getting started. You can't even imagine what I have planned hee hee ;).**

**Also, I'm feeling inspired to start another story. I have three ideas but I don't know which one to choose. I'm going to put up a poll and see what you guys are interested in. Please vote on what story you're the most interested in reading. If you want more info on the stories I'm thinking of writing (and all three of these stories will get written, trust me), please inbox me and I'll give you a broader description.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you think!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update last night. On top of feeling horrible about myself after most likely bombing my French exam, I didn't have internet for about two hours last night. Then, when it finally came back, it was really late and I was tired. I also would've had this up earlier if I hadn't agreed to work. Oh the wonders of being home for the weekend. Anyways, I had a bit of writer's block for this chapter. All the stuff I have written for the end of the story is nowhere near where I am now so the chapters may be a little boring until I get to the stuff I already have planned. Anyways, I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

* * *

Natasha couldn't hide the smile that was a permanent fixture on her face as she walked the halls of Dalton on Monday morning. Many of the girls gave her strange looks since she usually had a scowl plastered on her face. Even her friends, Pepper Potts and Maria Hill, thought Natasha's behavior was awfully suspicious.

"What are you so happy about?" Pepper asked excitedly as she dropped her tray onto their table in the cafeteria.

Natasha hadn't even realized she was daydreaming about her weekend again until Pepper slammed her tray onto the table. "Oh, umm, nothing, I just had a good birthday weekend," Natasha said with a shrug of her shoulders as she turned her attention back to her salad on her tray.

"Oh, you and Alexei?" Maria asked with a seductive arch of her eyebrow as she took a seat next to Natasha.

Natasha realized that she had never told Maria and Pepper about Clint, despite them being the closest thing she could call friends. She had used Maria and Pepper as excuses when she was actually going to hang out with Clint. But even then she would make the excuse vague. Either way, Maria and Pepper didn't know a thing about Clint so she had to tell a little white lie.

"Yeah, Alexei and I," she said in agreement.

"Tell us _all_ the details!" Pepper squealed.

"Ew, God no!" Natasha said, scrunching up her face in disgust.

"You don't have to actually go into detail, but just…tell us what happened," Pepper said as she leaned forward.

"We made out and then it happened," Natasha said vaguely.

"Boo," Maria whined. "You can't seriously be telling me that Alexei didn't do anything romantic. It was your birthday for crying out loud!"

"No, he didn't," Natasha said. That part wasn't even true. It wasn't quite what you would call romantic or straight out of a romance novel, but Natasha found it incredibly romantic.

"Are you seriously telling us there were no rose petals or candles or champagne?" Pepper asked with a sigh.

"Nope, none," Natasha said.

"Well that's no fun," Maria griped.

"What's no fun?" Tony said as he sat down in the empty chair next to Pepper. He gave her a quick peck on the lips before resting his arms on the tabletop. "Seriously, what's no fun?"

"Oh, just Alexei not being all romantic on Natasha's birthday," Pepper grumbled as Natasha rolled her eyes at her.

"Ah, Little Red, you dirty girl, you," Tony said.

"Fuck off Stark," Natasha spat as she glared at him.

"Hey, hey, hey, no cussing in front of my lady," Tony said as he wrapped an arm around Pepper's shoulders.

Natasha rolled her eyes and shook her head. She was fed up with Tony's egotistical behavior. She got enough of it while she was at home so she was particularly sick of it when she had to endure it at school. With a sigh, Natasha stood up and put her hands on the sides of her tray. "I'm full. I'm going to the library. I have a paper that's due on Friday."

"Okay, we'll see you later then," Pepper said and Maria just nodded her head. Natasha lifted her tray from the table and took it over to the trash can to dump its contents. She set the dirty tray with the rest of them and headed out of the cafeteria.

She was so bored with her life without Clint. School was unbearable. Her parents, despite her dad being on her side when it came to her predicament, were still pressuring her when it came to the wedding. Clint was the only person who didn't pressure her to do anything or be anything. She could be herself around Clint.

As she walked down the hall, she ducked into the nearest girls' bathroom and checked underneath the stalls to make sure she was alone. She whipped out her phone and began to type away.

_I'm bored_, her message read. _Want to skip school with me?_

She read her message over and over again. It was only two sentences and yet, she felt like she needed to get it right. When she decided that was what she wanted to say, she sent her message and then began pacing the length of the bathroom. It was a couple minutes until he responded, but when her phone buzzed in her hand, she frantically opened the message to read it.

She knew she should not have been so excited when she saw the message, but she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face.

_I thought you'd never ask._

* * *

She knew it was a bad idea to stay on the island of Manhattan instead of escaping to Brooklyn. One of her parents' friends, Alexei's parents, or even her parents themselves could catch her and sell her out to the headmaster of Dalton. But Clint had been willing to come to her and she wasn't going to argue. As long as she was with Clint, she was okay with it.

She pulled her pea coat closer to her to keep warm as she waited on the sidewalk near Madison Square Park. Natasha had agreed to meet Clint at the park so he could get something to eat for lunch from Shake Shack. Dalton was on a different time schedule than Clint's school so he hadn't had lunch yet.

It felt like an eternity until she saw Clint walking up the sidewalk towards her. It took every ounce of restraint in her body to not run towards him and jump into his arms. It hadn't even been 24 hours since they last saw each other, and yet it felt like it had been years since she'd seen him.

"Hey," Clint said when he finally reached her.

"Hey," Natasha said with a small smile. "Thanks for skipping school with me."

Clint shrugged. "I have a perfect attendance record. I think I can sacrifice that record for you."

Natasha let out a girlish giggle but quickly composed herself. "So, umm, lunch?" she asked nervously. Clint nodded and they headed over to Shake Shack so Clint could grab something to eat. Despite merely picking at her food from the Dalton cafeteria, she wasn't very hungry. Even when Clint offered to buy her something, she politely declined.

When Clint got his food, they claimed one of the many empty tables and sat down. Natasha watched awkwardly as he devoured his burger in just a couple bites and then slowly began to pick at his fries.

"So, how have you been in the last 24 hours?" Clint asked with a smirk.

Natasha felt a faint smile spread across her face. "Fine, I guess," she said. "I just had to get away from school. My friends and some of my classmates were asking about my birthday weekend and I just…" She shrugged her shoulders as she left her sentence unfinished.

"Why are they asking? It's your business and your business only," Clint said.

"Well, they kind of assumed what happened. They thought it was with Alexei too," Natasha muttered, keeping her eyes focused on her gloved hands in her lap.

Clint knew he shouldn't feel jealous or angry but he kind of was. He knew her friends probably didn't even know about him. Her parents probably didn't even know about him. And yet, he couldn't help but feel jealous that Alexei was getting all the credit.

That's when Clint realized that Natasha was _still_ with Alexei and Clint was "the other man." He knew Natasha wasn't completely cold-hearted, but he couldn't help but think she was using him. At least, that's what it felt like to Clint.

"Nat, what am I to you?" Clint said as he raised his head to look Natasha in the eye.

Natasha was completely caught off guard and she didn't quite know how to answer the question mostly because she wasn't quite sure what he was asking. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"What is this? What are we?" Clint asked with a slight edge in his voice.

"I…" she trailed off. She still didn't know how to answer that mostly because she didn't quite know how to answer them to herself. "I don't know, Clint."

"Well could you figure it out? 'Cause I'm really fucking confused," he said.

What was Clint Barton to her, Natasha Romanoff? Was he her acquaintance? Was he her friend? Was he just some guy she met up with to make out with and sleep with? As she pondered all of these scenarios in her head, she realized Clint Barton was so much more than that to her.

She was in love with this boy. She was sure of that much. She knew she needed to try harder to end things with Alexei. If she didn't, things could get ugly for Clint or her or both of them.

* * *

As Natasha waited for the elevator in her building when she returned from her lunch date with Clint, she couldn't help but wonder if she had gotten caught as she was sneaking out of Dalton. If they caught her, they most likely called her parents and they'd be waiting for her when she arrived home. However, by this point, she just didn't care. She hoped she'd gotten caught.

"You naughty girl, Little Red," Natasha heard from behind her. Natasha rolled her eyes as she groaned at the sound of Tony Stark's voice. He appeared beside her with his devilish smirk plastered across his face.

"What do you want, Stark?" she asked icily. The elevator made it to the lobby and Natasha and Tony stepped onto it in silence. Natasha pressed the button for her floor and then stepped away so Tony could press the button for his floor. Even though she knew what floor he lived on, she was never polite enough to press the button on the elevator for his floor if they ended up riding the elevator together.

Natasha noticed Tony reaching for the emergency stop button once the elevator started its ascent but Natasha stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "Don't even think about it," she snapped.

"Ow! For a ballerina, you're pretty strong," Tony said as he rubbed his wrist. "Besides, I just want the details about you and Lover Boy because you clearly skipped school to be with him."

"Go to hell, Stark," she snarled. The elevator dinged to signal that it had reached Natasha's floor and the doors slid open. Natasha rushed to get off the elevator and be rid of Tony's presence.

"I just wanted you to know," Natasha heard Tony say. She spun around to find him leaning up against the doorway of the elevator so that the doors remained open. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he had a smug smirk on his face. "I just wanted you to know that in a couple weeks, my parents are going to be out of town. I'm having a little shindig and you and Alexei are invited."

"Splendid," Natasha said sarcastically.

"Oh, and your lover is invited too," Tony added.

"Are you fucking crazy?" Natasha spat.

"No, I'd actually like to meet the guy," Tony said matter-of-factly. "I want to know why you're so captivated by him."

"I am not _captivated_ by him," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh, but I think you are," Tony said with a smirk.

Natasha rolled her eyes and shook her head. It was true. She was absolutely captivated by Clint Barton, but she would never admit that to Tony Stark. He would tell the whole damn world. "Whatever, I'll let him know. Now go away," Natasha demanded.

Tony nodded and backed into the elevator. The doors slid shut quietly and Natasha waited until Tony was completely out of sight until she turned to her door and slid her key into the lock. The fact that Tony had invited Clint to his party just screamed suspicious. It was a recipe for disaster. Even though Clint and Alexei had met before and had been in the same room as each other, there was no telling what would happen at one of Stark's parties.

* * *

**Tony's having a party and both Clint and Alexei are invited. Ooooooh, that just spells trouble!**

**For those of you that voted for my next story, thank you so much for your input! I'll either post it tomorrow or Sunday. By the way, the winner was *drum roll please*...To Rome With Love! So keep a look out for it!**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you think!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! I know I haven't updated in almost a week and I'm sorry. School is just really crazy right now. But I have the next chapter here for you. Enjoy!**

* * *

Things changed between Clint and Natasha following the day they skipped school together. Though Clint still had feelings for Natasha – and those feelings were never going to go away – he was still angry over the game that she was playing with both him and Alexei. He wanted her to make up her mind because he wasn't pleased with the way he was being treated.

And yet, Clint couldn't restrain himself from contacting her. However, every time he sent her a text, there was something different about the tone of her response. When he would text her to ask her how she was, she rarely responded or when she did, it was many hours later and it was a one-word answer. If he asked her to hang out, she would make up a lame excuse. At least, Clint figured it was a lame excuse.

Natasha's absence from Clint's life took an evident toll on Clint. At least, Thor, Bruce, and Steve could tell it was really affecting him. Clint knew he seemed like a lovesick puppy dog but you just don't enter someone's life then abruptly leave it without telling them why.

"Clint, I think it's time for an intervention," Bruce said suddenly one day during lunch.

"Huh? What?" Clint asked in bewilderment as he pulled himself out of his daze. "What do you mean?"

"We think you're going through a withdrawal," Steve said.

"What? I haven't smoked pot in months!" Clint said defensively.

"Not pot, you dumbass! Natasha," Steve suggested.

"Yeah, whatever," Clint mumbled incoherently. Natasha was clearly a sore subject for Clint, especially since she wasn't talking to him.

"Clint, you barely talk to us anymore. What's going on?" Thor chimed in.

Clint just shrugged, his eyes trained on his hands in his lap. "She just…doesn't talk to me anymore and I don't know why."

Thor, Steve, and Bruce looked at one another before turning their attention back to Clint. They knew their friend had been head over heels for Natasha and there was no doubt that he still was. They knew Natasha was very nice and actually cared for Clint, so they weren't sure why Natasha wasn't talking to him.

"Why don't you try talking to her again?" Bruce suggested.

"She'll just ignore my text or send me a one-word answer," Clint said. "It's no use."

"Then go to her place in Manhattan and ask her in person," Steve said.

"Are you fucking crazy?" Clint exclaimed. "That's a death sentence. What if Alexei's there?"

"Then take the risk," Steve said. "If you want, we'll come with you."

"I'm not five-years-old. I can take care of it myself," Clint scoffed.

"So then take care of it," Bruce snapped. "She's just a girl."

"_Just_ a girl?" Clint asked, arching one of his eyebrows in contempt. "So I guess Betty is just a girl to you, too?"

Bruce looked as if he'd been slapped across the face. "What? Come on, Clint, don't be like that."

"And I suppose Jane and Peggy are _just_ girls to you guys, too?" Clint said, ignoring Bruce's comment and directing his snide question to Thor and Steve. Clint knew it was harsh and the look on their faces had him convinced that it was harsh. If their significant others pulled this same crap on them, they'd be acting the same way.

"So what are you going to do?" Bruce asked.

Clint stared at his friends for a couple seconds before pulling his phone out of his pocket and ducking under the table. "Keep a look out for teachers," Clint hissed to Steve as he scrolled through his contacts. He found Natasha's name and tapped the screen to call her phone.

He pressed his phone to his ear and listened as it rang several times before going to voicemail. He didn't expect her to answer seeing as she was probably in school too, but she couldn't avoid his voicemail. She would have to listen to it to get rid of it.

"Tasha, I don't know what I've done for you to avoid me like this but I'm coming over after school to work it out with you whether you like it or not," Clint said. With that, he disconnected the call before crawling out from underneath the table and sitting down in his seat again.

"So what are you doing?" Steve asked eagerly.

"I'm going to her place after school. She can't avoid me forever," Clint said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Steve clapped him on the back approvingly. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it? No need to get your panties in a twist."

Clint rolled his eyes and cast his gaze downward again. The fact that he was going to Natasha's after school didn't make him feel any better. He was still angry that she was with Alexei when she didn't want to be. He was still angry that she had feelings for him but wasn't doing anything about them. He knew nothing would be resolved by going to her place after school, but maybe, just maybe, he'd feel a little better about himself if he saw her.

* * *

Clint anxiously paced the sidewalk outside of Natasha's building as he called her for the fourth time. She hadn't answered her phone at all the past few times he called her. If he called her one more time and she didn't answer, he was going upstairs without an invitation.

"Yes, Clint?" Clint heard Natasha say when she answered the call.

"Jesus Tasha, finally!" Clint sighed into his phone. "Did you get my voicemail?"

"Mhmmm," she hummed.

"Can I come up? I'm downstairs," Clint said.

There was a lengthy pause as Natasha contemplated his question. Eventually, she invited him upstairs and she disconnected the call without another word. Clint slipped his phone into his pocket and rushed into the building, impatiently pressing the button to beckon the elevator to the lobby.

When the elevator reached the lobby, Clint stepped onto it and pressed the button for Natasha's floor before hastily jamming his thumb on the button to close the doors. The elevator began its ascent and Clint couldn't help but nervously bounce up and down on the balls of his feet. When the elevator reached the third floor, Clint took off at a brisk pace and he was in front of the door to Natasha's apartment in seconds. Calmly, he rapped his knuckles three times on the door and waited patiently for Natasha to answer. He heard the sounds of her feet get closer to the door before she opened it to reveal herself.

"Hey Nat," Clint breathed when he finally saw her. Believe it or not, it had been three weeks since he'd last seen her and now, everything from the past few weeks just disappeared the moment he saw her.

"Hi," she said quietly before gesturing to let him enter. Clint hesitantly took a step into the apartment but when he did, Natasha immediately closed the door behind him before hastily making her way to the living room. Clint followed her and he watched as she kept her eyes trained on the floor.

Natasha took a seat in a plush arm chair while Clint sat down on one of the love seats. Clint noticed that Natasha wouldn't meet his eyes and the action kind of hurt his feelings. What exactly had Clint done to deserve this? Had Alexei said something to her to make her act this way towards Clint?

"So, umm, it's good to see you, Nat. It's been three weeks," Clint said, breaking the silence.

Natasha finally lifted her head, her green eyes connecting with Clint's. She flashed him a faint smile. "Yeah, I know. I've just been…really busy," she sighed exasperatedly.

"Nat," Clint murmured. "If something's going on, you can tell me."

Natasha shook her head. "Really, I'm sorry I haven't talked to you much lately. I've just had a lot of stuff to do. AP exams at school and whatnot."

Clint could tell she was lying. She could hide it from her parents and her friends and even Alexei, but whatever she was hiding, she couldn't hide it from Clint. "You can't lie to me, you know?"

"I'm not lying," she said with a slight edge in her voice.

"Okay, okay," Clint said as he held up his hands in defense. "You've just been busy before and you still made time to hang out with me."

"It's just starting to be too much that's all," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Your schoolwork or us?" Clint asked, nervous as to what the answer might be.

"All of it," she said with a slight shake of her head. "I'm just so tired all the time. There are never enough hours in the day. I'm getting assigned too much work. My parents are pressuring me and Alexei's being an ass."

"Well what else is new?" Clint said with a slight chuckle.

Natasha sighed. "I'm just sorry, okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Clint said with a sigh, even though he wasn't really okay with it.

"So, I'd really hate to do this, but I've got a lot of schoolwork to do so…" she trailed off, implying that she wanted him to leave.

Clint's face fell in disappointment but he quickly composed himself. "Oh, yeah, sure," he said as he pushed off of the couch. Natasha rose from the arm chair and led the way out of the living room to the door to the apartment.

"So, yeah, maybe in a couple of weeks when all of this has gotten less crazy, we can hang out…again," she said, her eyes still not meeting his.

Clint nodded. "Yeah, so, I guess I'll be seeing you."

"Mhmmm," she hummed. She opened up the door to the apartment and kept her eyes cast downward. Clint hesitantly stepped over the threshold before turning back to face Natasha. She still wouldn't look at him directly and Clint was concerned. What had he done to deserve this? Was she angry over the last time they had seen each other when Clint practically accused her of using him?

"Look Nat, if you're mad about the last time we saw each other, I'm sorry. I was just mad. It was a heat-of-the-moment thing," Clint said innocently.

"No Clint, it's fine," she said quietly. "I'm just really busy, that's all."

"Are you sure?"

Natasha nodded her head in response. "It's okay, Clint. I'll be…talking to you, okay?"

"Yeah, bye Nat," Clint said. She nodded her head one last time before looking towards the floor again as she shut the door.

Clint shook his head in disbelief. He wasn't quite sure what just happened but he dragged his feet towards the elevator anyways. Nothing had been accomplished. Nothing had been resolved. And yet here he was, depressingly pressing the button to call the elevator to the third floor.

It wasn't long until the elevator reached the third floor and the doors slid open to welcome Clint. Clint noticed he wasn't the only one riding the elevator to the lobby but it's not like he cared. He stepped onto the elevator and stood next to the dapperly dressed teenager.

The elevator doors slid shut and it began its descent to the lobby. It was merely seconds after the elevator doors slid closed when the dapperly dressed teenager in the elevator with Clint leaned forward and pressed the emergency stop button. The elevator gave a sickening lurch as it came to a stop.

"Hey, what the hell?" Clint growled at his fellow passenger.

"Is your name Clint?" the teenager inquired.

Clint looked at the teenager. He was taken aback over the fact that he knew his name. Who was this kid? Was he a friend of Natasha's? If so, why was Natasha sharing stories about her and him to this guy?

"Yeah," Clint said hesitantly.

The teenager offered his hand out to Clint to shake. "Tony Stark."

Clint nodded and then hesitantly grabbed Tony Stark's hand to shake it. "Umm, yeah, nice to meet you."

"I'm a friend of Natasha's," Tony said when him and Clint released their grips on one another. "Well, _friend_ is an overstatement."

"Okay," Clint said condescendingly.

"So, I'm having a little shindig this weekend and I just wanted to extend the invite to you," Tony said.

"Why?" Clint asked, practically in disgust.

"Let's just say I'm not a fan of Natasha's fiancé and even though I barely know you, I like you with Natasha better than I like Natasha with Alexei," Tony explained.

"Does she like tell you all kinds of secrets and what not?" Clint asked.

"She doesn't have to. I just know. It's like I have a sixth sense or something," Tony said as he tapped his temple with his index finger.

"Fascinating," Clint said sarcastically.

"Yeah, you two were made for each other," Tony said matter-of-factly. "Just think about it." Tony reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out a business card to hand to Clint. "My number's on the card. I can tell you don't want to come to this party at all, but if you change your mind, let me know."

Clint took the card and eyed it for a couple seconds before shoving it in his jacket pocket. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Trust me, I'm on your side. There's nothing I would like more than for Natasha to break things off with Alexei," Tony said as he leaned forward to deactivate the emergency stop. The elevator gave another sickening lurch as it started its descent.

Clint wasn't sure if he could trust this guy, Tony Stark. He seemed like a stuck-up asshole and he wasn't sure if he was bullshitting or not. But Tony Stark had said it several times. He didn't like Alexei. He didn't like Natasha _with_ Alexei. Tony Stark seemed like he was on Clint's side.

"You know what," Clint said suddenly as he turned to Tony. "Count me in."

* * *

**So Clint met Tony and now he's going to his party. Does this smell like trouble or what?**

**I think, from now on, updates are going to come sporadically. I could update on the weekends or on a weekday. It all depends on what kind of work I get or if I have a paper due on a Monday (which is currently the case though it's only 4-5 pages and I already have a page and a half written). But yes, please stay calm. School is hard, especially when you're taking political philosophy and currently failing it because you screwed up your first paper when you took a whole weekend to work on it. True story.**

**Anyways, as always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you guys think!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Looky here! You guys get an update! I figured I'd get this in now before this whole "Frankenstorm" hits my city. I want to be able to get my homework done too in case we lose power. In that case, you may not get another update from me for the rest of the weekend (and that goes for the rest of my stories). But who knows, maybe I can fit another update in before this storm hits. Anyways, I have a song suggestion for you guys. At the first (and only) page break/section break/whatever you want to call it, listen to "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. Feel free to do that if you'd like. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

Clint rode the elevator to the top floor of Natasha's building on Saturday night to Tony Stark's party. Since Clint met Tony earlier that week, he had been keeping in contact with him so Tony could give him updates on Natasha. Natasha was still ignoring Clint's text messages and calls so Clint had asked Tony to let him know if he saw anything strange going on with Natasha.

Even though Tony had been nice enough to invite him to the party and keep an eye on Natasha, Clint found Tony to be extremely egotistical. Tony was exactly like the stereotypical Upper East Side rich boy who was spoiled by his parents and went to a private school. Clint couldn't go more than ten minutes talking on the phone with him which is why he preferred to text him.

Clint was pulled out of his thoughts when the elevator dinged to signal that it had reached the top floor. The doors slid open to reveal a dimly lit hallway with the thump of a bass shaking the walls. There was already the sound of giggles and loud voices coming from inside the apartment so Clint figured the party had already started. Either that or they were going hard for pre-gaming.

Clint slowly walked down the hallway that was lined with a few partygoers who were either drunk off their asses, making out with one another, passed out, or a combination of any of the three. He kept his gaze focused forward as he searched for Tony in the crowd of people. He just hoped he found him before he ran into Natasha and Alexei.

Clint roamed through the crowd until he eventually ended up in the kitchen of the Stark penthouse. Clint spotted Tony leaning up against the counter with a drink in his hand and his arm wrapped around a girl with strawberry blonde hair. Clint politely pushed his way through the crowd and approached Tony and the girl with the strawberry blonde hair.

"Ah, Mr. Barton, you made it!" Tony exclaimed, putting his drink on the counter and unwrapping his arm from behind the girl.

"Who's your friend, Tony?" the girl asked.

"Pepper, my love, this is Clint Barton. He's a friend of Natasha's," Tony said. Clint immediately shot Tony a dirty look. Clint was pretty sure Natasha had never mentioned Clint to any of her friends, so he wasn't particularly pleased that Tony had dropped the ball. But Clint quickly composed himself and offered up his hand to Pepper.

"Nice to meet you, umm…" Clint trailed off. He didn't quite catch her name when Tony addressed her.

"Oh, Pepper," Pepper said with a small smile as she shook Clint's hand. "So how do you know Natasha?"

Clint didn't quite have an answer to Pepper's question. He couldn't quite tell her how they actually met because it was under strange circumstances. He had to come up with a lie. It probably wouldn't be the best lie, but it would most likely suffice.

"Oh, I met her at a concert about a month or two ago," Clint lied. "She seemed pretty cool and we've hung out a couple times." A couple times? That was quite an understatement.

Pepper nodded in understanding before turning back to Tony. "I'm going to go see if Maria has arrived yet."

"Okay, come find me if she hasn't!" Tony shouted over the booming music to Pepper as she walked away. After staring at Pepper's ass as she walked away until she disappeared in the crowd, Tony turned his attention back to Clint. "I bet you're wondering where Natasha is."

"Umm, yeah, I guess. Is she here yet?" Clint asked hesitantly. It took every ounce of energy in his body to not sound excited or eager.

"Yes, Lover Boy," Tony said as he rolled his eyes. "She was in the living room last I checked. It looked like she wasn't having much fun with dickwad so go and save her."

"I can't just walk up to her and talk to her with Alexei around. He has to be suspicious of us by now," Clint exclaimed.

"Who gives a flying fuck? That shithead deserves to be cheated on and dumped," Tony said.

Clint pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "You know Stark, I have morals. I'm trying not to come off as a bad person."

Tony swiped his drink off of the counter and downed all of its contents in one gulp. He gave the glass a little shake before smirking at Clint. "If you're going to hang out in the Upper East Side, you have to act like you're from the Upper East Side." Tony brushed past Clint, stumbling to get himself another drink.

"I'm not going to play dirty, Stark," Clint shot back.

Tony snorted. "Well, then good luck to you," he said. "They'll eat you alive here if you don't." Tony brushed past Clint, drink in hand, and stumbled off into the crowd to enjoy his party.

* * *

Clint watched Natasha and Alexei from a distance for most of the evening. Clint could tell that Natasha wasn't enjoying herself and she looked like she was on edge. She took small sips from her cup of beer that was in her hand as she testily turned down the shots Alexei was offering her. Clint could tell Alexei was getting on Natasha's nerves, too. Clint wanted to help her. He wanted to tell Alexei to leave her alone but that would give it away that he and Natasha were more than just friends.

When Natasha had finally finished her beer, she handed her cup to Alexei to give her a refill. Alexei slipped out of the room with some of his friends and Clint did as well so he could follow him. Even though Natasha knew he wouldn't spike her drink with some foreign drug, Clint didn't exactly trust him. So he followed Alexei to the kitchen inconspicuously to make sure he didn't pull any stupid stunts to harm Natasha.

Clint watched as Alexei filled up Natasha's cup from the keg that was in the middle of the kitchen and then walked over to the counter to pour a shot for himself. After he was satisfied with his shot, one of his friends tapped him on the shoulder and pulled out a small bag of cocaine. Alexei nodded his head and his friend started to prepare the drugs for inhalation.

Alexei's friend prepared the lines of cocaine on the counter while another one pulled out a few rolled up dollar bills. He handed Alexei one and then the other friend one, too, once he finished preparing the lines. Without so much as saying a word to one another, they bent forward and snorted the cocaine through the rolled up dollar bills.

With wide eyes, Clint watched in shock as all three boys did a line each. Clint looked around at the rest of the partygoers and it didn't even seem to faze them. Clint guessed it was just a common occurrence but he still found it to be incredibly shocking. When Alexei and his friends started to head out of the kitchen, Clint slipped out discreetly and hid in the shadows as Alexei made his way back to Natasha in the living room.

And that's how it went for the rest of the night. Not only would Clint hide as inconspicuously as possible but whenever Alexei and his friends would slip out of room to grab more drinks, Clint would follow them. To no surprise, every time they went to the kitchen, Alexei and his friends did a line of cocaine each.

After three hours, Clint had had enough. Alexei and his friends had done six lines each by that point and Clint was really starting to get concerned for Natasha's safety. After the fifth line, Alexei had started to come onto Natasha and she clearly wasn't having it. She pushed him away several times, only for him to grab her in an inappropriate place again. When Alexei finally gave up and Natasha sat on the couch sulking, that's when Alexei had summoned his friends to go to the kitchen and do the sixth line of cocaine.

By that point, Clint was genuinely concerned that Natasha was going to get hurt. With all of the drugs in his system and combined with the alcohol, Alexei was just a time bomb waiting to explode. After Clint watched Alexei do his sixth line, he retreated from the kitchen and headed back into the living room to find Natasha. He knew it was incredibly risky but he needed to know that she was safe.

Clint spotted Natasha sitting in the same spot on the couch and he made a bee-line for her. He pushed through the crowd impatiently until he was standing in front of Natasha. The look of shock on her face was priceless when she saw Clint standing in front of her. She didn't quite know what to say or what to do, but eventually, she stood up and continued to stare speechlessly in front of Clint.

"Tasha, you can't go home with Alexei tonight," Clint said.

"W-what are you doing here?" she hissed.

"Tony invited me," Clint said nonchalantly, waving off her question. "Listen to me. You can't go home with Alexei tonight, or at least don't be alone with him."

"Okay?" she said hesitantly.

"Because - ."

"Well, well, well, look who we have here," Clint heard from behind him and he immediately stiffened. He hesitated to turn around because he didn't want to face it, but he had to eventually. With a quick look over his shoulder, Clint slowly turned around to face Alexei, who literally looked like he was seeing red. "Well? What are you doing here?" Alexei asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Tony invited me," Clint said bluntly.

"Oh did he now?" Alexei asked condescendingly.

"Yeah, he did," Clint shot back confidently.

"So Natasha has nothing to do with this?" Alexei asked.

Of course he knew and he'd been waiting for the moment to call him out on it. However, Clint wasn't going to make it seem like that was the case. He had to keep a poker face, as hard as that was. And if he lost his cool, then so be it. "I don't think it's any of your business as to whether Natasha has anything to do with this or not," Clint said coolly.

"I think it is my business since she's my fiancée," Alexei countered.

"Hmm, yeah, well it seemed like she was really enjoying your company tonight."

"Clint, stop," Natasha chimed in from behind him.

"Look Clint – may I call you Clint?" Alexei asked. Clint just glared back at Alexei wordlessly. "Well, I'll take that as a yes. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that Natasha is _mine_."

"Was she still yours when you cheated on her with half of the girls in New York?" Clint snapped. Clint could tell that hit a nerve because the look of shock and anger that quickly flitted across his face was evident. Clint felt pretty proud of himself until he realized how much deep shit he was in.

Alexei took a few steps until the tip of his nose was practically touching Clint's. "I think it's time for you to leave," Alexei sneered.

"It's not your party. I don't think it's your decision to kick me out or not," Clint said.

"You are getting on my last nerve," Alexei hissed.

"Am I? Or is that just the drugs talking?" Clint retorted.

Alexei was speechless but Clint was just waiting for him to snap. That's when Clint realized he wanted Alexei to snap. He wanted him to lose his cool. Maybe, somehow, that would make Natasha end things with Alexei.

Clint felt it before he even saw it and had time to react. Alexei's fist connected with Clint's jaw and Clint staggered backwards, regaining his balance before he even collided with Natasha. Before he could even process the sucker punch that Alexei rewarded him with, Alexei was grabbing fistfuls of his shirt and shoving him to the ground.

"Alexei, stop!" Clint heard Natasha scream but Alexei didn't stop. Clint knew what was bound to come next so he instinctively shielded his face with his arms. What he didn't expect was the swift kick to his right side.

_Well, that's probably a couple broken ribs_, Clint thought to himself. Clint felt another hard kick to his side and then another. Clint peeked out from underneath his arms and saw that Alexei's friends had joined in on the fight.

At one point, one of Alexei's friends thought it would be fun to kick Clint in the head. When he did, Clint let his guard down and he saw stars. Those few seconds he left his face unguarded were the worst few seconds of his life. Alexei had pinned him down and crawled on top of him to start pummeling him in the face. Clint had enough energy to shove Alexei off of him and then shield his face again. It had only been a few seconds and a couple of jabs, but Clint knew that Alexei had done some damage and he could even taste the coppery sensation of blood. He just desperately hoped he still had all of his teeth.

"What the fuck?" Clint heard someone exclaim. Instantly, the beating Clint was enduring ceased and Alexei and his friends backed away from him. Clint turned his head to the side and saw a confused and shocked Tony standing in the doorway of the living room.

"Alexei, get the fuck out of my penthouse," Tony growled.

"Ah Stark, this is nothing," Alexei said innocently.

"You weren't even invited tonight. Just because Natasha was invited doesn't mean that you were too," Tony spat.

Alexei scoffed. With a smirk, he stepped over Clint and walked over to Natasha. Clint weakly turned his head to look at Natasha. Clint's tired blue-grey eyes met with Natasha's wide and shocked green ones. Her hands were clamped over her mouth and her gaze was set on Clint.

"Baby, let's go. This party's shit anyways," Alexei said.

Natasha was silent, her eyes still focused on Clint. After a couple seconds, she removed one of her hands from her mouth but kept the other just barely hovering over it. "I'll be right behind you," Natasha whispered inaudibly.

Alexei nodded and barked an order at his friends to follow him. Alexei disappeared from the living room with his friends in tow. Tony glared at Alexei as he passed by him on the way out. When Alexei was finally gone, Tony stepped forward and crouched down next to Clint, who was still lying on the floor.

"Hey, Barton, are you fucking crazy?" Tony asked. Clint weakly shook his head. Everything ached and he knew that when he woke up tomorrow morning, it was only going to be ten times worse.

"Is he okay?" Natasha asked, her voice cracking and shaky.

Tony looked up from Clint's limp form and focused his gaze on Natasha, who was frozen in her spot in the living room. "Romanoff, I think you should go too."

Natasha looked at Tony in shock but simply nodded. Hesitantly, she walked forward as if to check on Clint but then diverted her path around him and disappeared from the living room.

"Keep an eye on her," Clint said weakly.

"Don't worry about Natasha. She can take care of herself. You, on the other hand, need medical attention," Tony said.

"No. No medical attention," Clint mumbled as he weakly pushed himself into an upright position. He felt his head spin and then he started to fall backwards. Clint felt Tony put one hand on his shoulder and the other on his back as he slowly lowered him back onto the floor. "Just let me go home," Clint mumbled.

Tony shook his head in disbelief. "You're out of your mind, Barton," he said. "But if you insist."

Tony helped Clint to his feet and walked him to the elevator. Tony rode the elevator to the lobby with Clint and hailed a cab for him. Tony prepaid the driver and told him to take Clint home. Clint slipped into the backseat of the cab, rested his head against the headrest behind him, and relayed his information to the cab driver. Tony was about to close the door when Clint shoved his foot in the way. Tony looked back at him with a look of confusion.

"Please," Clint mumbled. "Please keep an eye on Natasha. Don't let Alexei hurt her."

Tony stared at Clint in disbelief before nodding his head. He couldn't say no to the guy who had just got his ass kicked for a girl. "Of course, Lover Boy," Tony said and slowly closed the door of the cab. Clint heard Tony tap the hood of the car and the car slowly crawled forward before gaining speed.

Clint drifted in and out of sleep until the cab finally reached his house in Brooklyn. He mumbled a thank you to the driver before stumbling out of the car. Clint barely remembered getting in the house because the next thing he knew he was in his bedroom, sitting on the edge of his bed. He knew he probably had blood on his face and he knew he needed some serious medical attention, but he had absolutely no energy.

Letting his body shut down on itself, Clint fell back against his bed and kicked off his shoes. He carefully scooted further onto the bed and the moment his head hit his pillow, he let the darkness of slumber overcome him.

* * *

**Was that intense or what? We're getting into the parts of the story that I've had written/planned since I started this story so buckle up your seatbelts you guys. You're in for a bumpy ride.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so leave me a lovely review for me to read while I'm hunkering down for "Frankenstorm."**


	19. Chapter 19

**Okay, so the storm hasn't hit yet so I figured I'd be nice and update this for you guys. Maybe if I still have power over the next two days I'll update it again because classes have been cancelled (Yay!). But who knows. We'll see. I don't think you guys are going to like me after this chapter, but just let it be known that I almost always write happy endings. Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

When Clint awoke the next morning, every part of his body screamed in protest. His right side was throbbing and he had a splitting headache. When he sat up in bed, his head began to spin and he felt himself fall back against the pillows. As he lied there, he realized he could still taste the coppery sensation of blood in his mouth and he couldn't even imagine what he actually looked like.

When Clint finally regained enough strength to get out of bed, he slowly sat up and swung his feet over the edge of his bed. He made his way over his bedroom door but hesitated to open it. He knew his mom would have a complete meltdown if she saw him. His dad would just shake his head in disappointment. Barney would make fun of him for sure. He was just going to have to go downstairs and hope that he didn't run into anyone.

Clint opened his bedroom door slowly and slipped out to the stairwell. He descended the stairs as carefully and quietly as he could until he reached the second floor. He looked both ways down the hall until he booked it to the bathroom. He quietly closed the door and locked it before turning to the mirror. The sight that he saw was not a pleasant one.

There was dried blood smeared down the right side of his face from a cut above his brow. His right eye was surrounded by a black and blue bruise while an ugly black and yellow bruise had formed on his jaw where Alexei had sucker punched him. Clint noticed a couple bruises had appeared on his arms and his left wrist was really sore.

Clint grabbed the box of tissues from the counter and searched underneath the sink for a bottle of rubbing alcohol. He found a bottle shoved in the back of cabinet along with a bag of cotton balls, so he pulled both of them out. He flipped the faucet on and began cleaning the blood and dirt from his face before he sterilized the cut.

As Clint cleaned off his face, he couldn't even fathom how the cut had bled so much. The cut wasn't even that deep and yet, Clint had looked like he had been bludgeoned in the head with a club. Either way, Clint let out a sigh of relief that he didn't need stitches and even if he did, he probably wouldn't get them anyways.

When Clint finally cleaned off his face, he swiped the wads of bloody tissues into the garbage and then uncapped the bottle of rubbing alcohol. He pulled a cotton ball from the bag and flipped the bottle of rubbing alcohol upside down on the cotton ball to soak it. Clint hesitated to rub the cotton ball over his cut but he knew he had to do it. He pressed the cotton ball to his brow and hissed out of discomfort when he felt the sting of the alcohol. As much as it hurt, he kept rubbing the cotton ball over his cut to sterilize it.

Clint tossed the cotton ball in the trash when he was finished and then put the bag of cotton balls and the rubbing alcohol back under the sink. When everything was put away, Clint knew there was one more thing he had to look at. Slowly and carefully, Clint pulled his arms through his t-shirt sleeves and pulled his shirt over his head. He hissed in pain as he felt his ribs scream in protest and he tossed his shirt on the floor.

Clint looked at his torso in the mirror and saw that it was littered with black and blue splotches. There was a nasty black and blue bruise on his hip, but most of the bruises were on his upper torso. His right side had suffered most of the blows so it was mostly splattered with the black and blue injuries.

Gently, Clint brushed his fingers over the large bruise and he winced. It was definitely sensitive but he wasn't experiencing any other serious pain so he just thought it was a couple cracked ribs. If they had punctured a lung, he would've been screwed.

There was a knock at the bathroom door and Clint jumped. He scrambled to grab his t-shirt and put it back on, hissing at the pain that shot through his abdomen.

"Clint, honey, are you in there?" Clint heard his mother ask from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be out in a minute!" Clint shouted as he pulled his shirt over his head.

"Okay, I just wanted to let you know that Natasha is here to see you," his mother said. Clint's head emerged from the neck of his t-shirt and he immediately whipped his head to the side to stare at the door in shock. He heard his mother walk down the hall and down the stairs.

If Clint wasn't so angry over the fight from last night, he would've been excited to see Natasha. But given his current state, it was just as much her fault as it was Alexei's. Clint hesitantly opened the bathroom door and glanced down the hall both ways before making his way downstairs. When he saw that the living room was empty, Clint figured Natasha was outside on the porch. When he figured the coast was clear, he walked down the remaining steps and slipped out the front door.

The moment he stepped out onto the front porch, he noticed the faint smile on Natasha's face disappear. He watched her survey the damage from the brawl from last night. There was no doubt that she could see the cut above his eye and the bruise around his eye, but of course there was so much more damage than that.

When she had finished surveying the damage, she rushed up the steps and grabbed his face in her hands. It felt good to have her skin against his, but Clint had to remind himself that he was angry with her. No, not angry. He was furious.

"He was out of line," Natasha mumbled as she brushed her fingers against Clint's bruised eye.

He flinched away from her touch and took a couple steps back. The look of confusion and shock on her face was on display.

"_Now_ you say he was out of line? You couldn't have mentioned that, I don't know, last night when he was beating the shit out of me?" Clint snapped.

"I…" she started but trailed off.

"You what? Hmmm?" he challenged her.

"You just laid there and took it. You didn't fight back. Why didn't you fight back?" she retorted angrily.

"You think I want to get arrested for assault?" Clint growled. "The most I did was shove him off of me when he started pummeling me in the face."

Natasha stood on the porch, looking at him with a blank disposition. Clint stared back at her icily. The throbbing in his ribs was painful. At that point, he figured it probably would've been smart for him to go to the hospital last night, but as long as he didn't have any trouble breathing and didn't start coughing up blood, he would be fine.

"Did you take that beating for me?" she asked in a whisper.

He hesitated to answer because he wasn't quite sure what his answer was. Part of him took the beating because, of course, he didn't want charges pressed against him. The last thing he needed was to get arrested. But there was also a part of him that took the beating not _for_ Natasha, but to teach her a lesson. Alexei was a loose cannon, a time bomb. He'd snapped around Natasha once before and he'd beaten the shit out of Clint last night.

"I don't know. Did it teach you a lesson?" he spat.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she asked, taken aback.

"He's a dick, Tasha!" Clint snapped. "You don't deserve him and he doesn't deserve you! You know that!"

"Oh, how selfish of you to think you're better for me," Natasha scoffed.

"We're not talking about you and me. Hell, I could care less about you ending up with me. I would be happy knowing that you're with anyone _but_ Alexei even if it meant that guy wasn't me."

"S-so…" she trailed off. She collected her thoughts before continuing. "You don't want me?"

"If you're going to stay with Alexei and act like your relationship with him is perfect, then no, I don't want you," Clint said icily.

"Fuck, Clint! How many times do I have to tell you that I don't have a choice? I can't end things with him! My hands are pretty much tied behind my back!" she shouted, her voice cracking.

"You have a choice! You always have a choice, Tasha! You are 18-fucking-years-old!"

Natasha shook her head. "You just…you don't understand."

"Oh I understand," Clint said. "I understand perfectly. You can just go and live happily ever after with your Prince Charming from the Upper East Side, and I'll just disappear from your life completely."

"I didn't say that. I _never_ said that I wanted that to happen!"

"No, you didn't, but I did. If you can't end things with Alexei, I don't think I can even be around you."

That's what really did it. That's what really got Natasha's blood boiling. She didn't even know what she was doing when she raised her hand and slapped him clear across the face. She knew it had to hurt ten times worse than it normally would because of his injuries from the brawl last night. She seriously felt bad about causing him more pain, but she hoped he got the message.

"Got it all out of your system?" he asked as he rubbed his cheek.

"No," she snapped. She wanted to hit him again. She wanted to hit him hard. Who did he think he was, trying to end their relationship? No, not relationship. They weren't in a relationship. She and Alexei were in a "relationship." Clint was her…friend? No, not her friend. He was so much more than that to her.

"You know what your problem is, Tasha," Clint said. "You're using your relationship with Alexei as an excuse to not be with me. Your parents would be so appalled if you dated a boy from Brooklyn so you stay with Alexei to make them happy. But did you ever think about your own happiness?"

"I thought you said you didn't care if I ended up with you?"

"I care about your happiness," Clint sighed. "I care about what _you_ want. How many times do I have to tell you that?

"So this is your last chance Tasha," he continued, folding his arms across his chest. "It's either me or Alexei."

He was giving her an ultimatum. He was giving her a fucking ultimatum! Natasha knew there was only one answer to this and she didn't like it. She sucked in a deep breath and looked into Clint's blue-grey eyes. She had to bite back the tears that threatened to spill over as she said, "Alexei."

Clint shook his head several times, back and forth, before he yanked open the screen door to his house. He hesitated in the doorway, his hand lingering on the handle.

"Goodbye Natasha," he muttered, not looking at her at all. Then, he stepped inside his house and slammed the door in her face.

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**Whoops, what have I done? Like I said, I usually write happy endings so fear not! Also, for those of you who have stuck with me since _Fix You_, you know I like twists and turns, and this is only the beginning.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review that I can read while I'm in my bunker for the hurricane.**


	20. Chapter 20

**I survived Frankenstorm! Hooray! I probably could've had this up days ago but I spent my days riding out Frankenstorm with my roommates, watching movies. But anyways, I am already putting together the next chapter (I've had part of it written already) so you can expect another update tomorrow. Anyways, please enjoy this chapter!**

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Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Clint had given Natasha an ultimatum and she chose Alexei. Clint was still trying to wrap his head around it. He didn't understand what went wrong. He didn't understand what he did wrong, if that was the case. There was no way of knowing either. Natasha hadn't contacted him since then and he didn't expect her to. She chose Alexei after all. He hadn't even tried to contact her because he knew there was no point. She made her choice; he had to let it go.

But that was the problem. Clint couldn't let it go. As ridiculous as it seemed, he was still hung up on it. He wasn't being a wimp and crying over it, but he still couldn't help but wonder what went wrong.

Thor, Steve, and Bruce didn't quite understand what went wrong either when Clint told them about Natasha choosing Alexei instead of him. They knew Natasha had been acting strange as of lately but they never expected her to choose Alexei over Clint. Most of all, they never expected Clint to give up fighting for her. They never expected him to accept her decision.

"Well, what did you want me to do?" Clint griped.

"I don't know," Bruce said with a shrug. "We just never expected you to accept her decision so easily."

"Whatever, it's over and done with. Things are over between us," Clint said, as much as he hated to say it.

"You just need to get your mind off of it," Steve chimed in. Almost as if on cue, Bobbi Morse walked by the table with a group of her friends. She sent a faint smile in Clint's direction as she continued to her table with her friends. Steve waited until Bobbi was out of earshot until he continued. "That's it! Bobbi, she's having another party this weekend. Why don't you hang out with her a bit?"

"I don't know," Clint said hesitantly. "I don't see her like that."

"That's only because you've been so hung up on Natasha," Steve said. "Maybe if you gave Bobbi a chance you can move on."

Clint quickly glanced over at Bobbi's table and saw her talking and laughing with her friends. Clint always thought Bobbi was nice and he knew she had a thing for him, but even before he met Natasha, the feelings were never mutual. Clint knew his friends were just trying to help him but he didn't want to get Bobbi's hopes up by chatting with her and being friendly.

"At least come to the party," Clint heard Thor say.

Clint turned his attention back to his friends. "Yeah, I guess so. It beats sitting around at home and watching reruns of _Entourage_ on Spike."

"That's the spirit!" Thor said enthusiastically.

They dropped the subject for the rest of the lunch period. Clint didn't feel ready to move on, and maybe that was because he was secretly hoping the whole fiasco was a nightmare he would wake up from. He was secretly hoping Natasha would come crawling back to him, begging him for forgiveness. He was just hoping he would get to see her again. He would never admit these feelings to his friends because they would think he was weak and pathetic but Clint couldn't deny the feelings to himself. They were there and they weren't going to go away. At least, not any time soon.

* * *

Clint could hear the music from almost two blocks away as him, Thor, Steve, and Bruce made their way to Bobbi's house Saturday night. By the time they actually got to her house, the party was in full swing and some partygoers were already drunk. Clint, Thor, Steve, and Bruce pushed their way through the crowd of people once they made it into the house and searched for Bobbi, Peggy, Jane, and Betty. They found the girls standing by the fireplace in Bobbi's living room and they waved at them before gesturing towards the kitchen to let them know that they were going to get something to drink first.

The kitchen was crowded with people. For the most part, they were huddled around the keg, which was in the middle of the room. But Thor, being a big guy and all, pushed his way through the crowd to the keg. Once he got his way, the crowd dispersed and the rest of the guys were able to huddle around the keg to get something to drink.

When their cups were filled, they pushed their way through the crowd to join the girls in the living room. As usual, Clint felt like the odd one out when all of his friends started pairing up with their significant others. Clint noticed a look in Steve's eye that practically said _Get-your-ass-over-by-Bobbi-and-starting-flirting-with-her_ but he just couldn't muster up the courage – or the energy – to do it.

Hours passed and Clint just continued to fill up his cup with beer. After a couple hours, he started to shoot the breeze with Bobbi because he was a little buzzed and she looked kind of bored. Besides, they had nothing better to do since Peggy and Steve were making out, Thor was in the bathroom with Jane to hold her hair while she threw up, and Bruce and Betty were talking about their most recent chemistry test.

Awkwardly, Clint and Bobbi stood by the fireplace in her living room as they chatted about school and the recent weather conditions. Clint knew it was stupid to talk about mindless things at a party but Clint was feeling left out. With all of his friends paired up, he felt like a loser for standing awkwardly next to Bobbi while she stood there awkwardly as well.

"I heard about you and…Natasha," Bobbi said hesitantly. That certainly grabbed Clint's attention and he whipped his head to the side to look at Bobbi. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," she said really quickly, realizing the mistake of bringing it up.

"No, it's okay," Clint said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Just…Steve told Peggy and she told me so I figured I'd ask if you were okay," Bobbi said innocently. "I liked her, though. She was really nice."

"Nice, yeah," Clint mumbled as he glanced into his cup of beer. He was due for another refill but he realized he had to take it easy. He'd never had this much to drink before and he was assuming it was because of how he still felt about Natasha. He had to remind himself to pace himself.

"Maybe she'll come around?" Bobbi suggested.

"Probably not," Clint said quickly before downing the rest of the contents of his cup.

Bobbi snatched the red cup out of Clint's hand and set it on the mantle above the fireplace. "Hey, what the hell?" Clint whined.

"Come on. You need hard liquor and you need it now," Bobbi said as she grabbed Clint by the hand and dragged him through the crowd to the kitchen. All of the partygoers immediately parted like the Red Sea when they noticed Bobbi plowing through them. Then again, it was her party after all and it wasn't polite to stand in the way of the hostess.

Bobbi swiped two shot glasses and a bottle of vodka off of the counter and then tugged Clint's hand again to lead him out back. When they stepped outside, the cold February air nipped at Clint's cheeks and he shoved his hands into his sweatshirt pockets in hopes that would keep him warm longer.

Bobbi sat down on the top step to her small back deck and patted the space next to her. Clint took a seat next to Bobbi just as she started pouring the clear liquid into the shot glasses. When they were both filled, Bobbi handed a shot glass to Clint and they both downed their shots at the same time.

"Ugh, I hate vodka," Clint said as he scrunched up his face in disgust.

"Well then why the fuck did you drink it?" Bobbi said as she lightly shoved him. "Actually, why didn't you say you wanted something else?"

"I don't know," Clint said. "Can't get anything else now. Mixing drinks isn't fun."

"Well, if you're fine with vodka, I think we're overdue for another shot," she said, snatching Clint's shot glass and filling it to the brim with vodka.

"Are you trying to get me drunk or what?" Clint asked with a slight chuckle.

"No, well yes. I'm not saying drinking's a healthy way to forget your sorrows but you just need to let loose every once in a while," Bobbi said as she handed him the shot glass to down the vile liquid again. He tossed back the shot. The second one wasn't as bad as the first, but he still found the drink to be disgusting. Maybe after a few more he wouldn't find vodka to be so bad. With that, he handed his shot glass to Bobbi so she could refill it.

Bobbi nodded her head in approval as she filled up his shot glass and her own. "Now we're talking."

* * *

Clint wasn't quite sure how many shots he had had. He was pretty sure he lost count after six. Even though he lost count, he didn't stop and neither did Bobbi. They sat on her back deck, enjoying each other's company and drinking until they felt warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Every so often, Bobbi would touch Clint's shoulder or rest her hand on top of his. If Clint had been sober, he probably would've flinched away and she would've gotten the message that he wasn't interested. But completely drunk off of his ass, he didn't mind it one bit. In fact, he kind of liked it. It made him feel like someone actually wanted him.

Bobbi lazily rested her head on Clint's shoulder as she let out a girlish giggle. "Oh this is fun," she sighed.

"Yeah, yeah," Clint said as he took a swig of vodka straight from the bottle.

"I like you, Clint," Bobbi said suddenly.

"I like you too, Bobbi," Clint said.

"No," Bobbi slurred as she lifted her head from Clint's shoulder. Clint turned his head to face Bobbi and his eyes met hers. "I _like_ like you," she said.

Clint gave her a perplexed look and in response, Bobbi crushed her lips to Clint's. Even in his drunken state, he pulled back at first but when Bobbi leaned forward again, he didn't resist. Completely drunk off his ass, even he knew that this was wrong. So very, very wrong. Even after countless shots of vodka, he still didn't have any feelings for Bobbi. She was a nice girl and he could even consider her a good friend. But still, he couldn't resist.

"Umm, do you want to go…somewhere else?" Bobbi asked when she pulled away from Clint.

"S-sure," Clint stammered. Bobbi stood up then grabbed Clint by the hand to pull him up. Clint stumbled to his feet and then followed Bobbi back into the house. When they stepped back inside, Bobbi grabbed his hand and led them through the crowd again.

_What are you doing, Clint?_ He could hear his conscious asking him when they started climbing the stairs to the second floor of Bobbi's house. He didn't know what he was doing. Somehow, he didn't care. Bobbi was right. He had to let loose. Maybe tonight was the night he started forgetting about Natasha. Tonight was the night he started to move on.

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**Please don't hate Bobbi haha. I've made her a bitch for like two of my fics already so I wanted her to be nice this time around. So please don't hate her lol.**

**By the way, holy reviews Batman! The last chapter was the most reviewed out of this entire fic with 20 reviews. You guys are awesome!**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you think.**


	21. Chapter 21

__**Just as I promised, here's the next chapter. You guys better buckle up. You're about to go on a bumpy ride. Enjoy!**

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_What the fuck have you done, you dumb fuck?_ Clint thought to himself as he lied in bed next to a sleeping Bobbi. Even after he had practically done the deed with Bobbi, Clint couldn't fall asleep. While Bobbi drifted off to sleep, Clint lied in her bed, staring at the ceiling, as he started to sober up. Clint was surprised that after all that he had to drink, he only had a mild headache. It was quite possible that he would be paying a bigger price for it later but at the moment, he was fine.

He wasn't quite sure how long he lied there, staring at the ceiling but when he glanced at the clock on Bobbi's bedside table, it was a little after four o'clock in the morning. That's when he realized the music had died down and the house was eerily quiet. At some point while Clint was staring off into the abyss, everyone must have left.

It wasn't much later when Clint heard his phone faintly ringing from his pants pocket on the floor next to the bed. Clint wasn't quite sure who would be calling him at this time of night but he rolled over with a groan and reached for his jeans to pull out his phone. When he finally wrestled his phone from the pocket of his jeans, he checked the caller ID and he was shocked when he saw who it was.

To his surprise, Natasha's name was flashing across his screen and he couldn't believe it. Clint hadn't spoken to Natasha since that morning on his front porch and he was shocked that she was contacting him now.

The screen went blank as the call went to voicemail, only to start up again seconds later. Clint figured that she was drunk and she was drunk dialing him. There really wasn't any other explanation, unless it was an absolute emergency. In that case, he wasn't sure why she would be calling him.

He stared at his phone's screen as she called him two more times. He thought she had given up when she didn't call back for a few minutes. But, as if to prove him wrong, she called a fifth time and that was when Clint decided he should answer the phone. He wasn't sure why he decided to answer it, but he figured that if she had to call five times in a row, something was wrong.

He quickly whipped the covers off of his body and searched for his boxers in the early morning darkness. He grabbed them and quickly pulled them onto his body before slipping out of the room so as not to disturb Bobbi while he was on the phone. In the time it had taken him to get out of bed, put his boxers on, and slip out of the room, the call had gone to voicemail again but she was calling him for a sixth time.

Clint took a deep breath before sliding his finger across the screen and putting his phone up to his ear. He didn't even get a word in before Natasha started rambling from the other end.

"Clint," she cried hysterically. Her breathing was ragged and she was definitely crying. In the background, Clint could hear banging. "Clint, I know it's early in the morning and I know the last time we talked we didn't leave on good terms but I just - ." She didn't finish her sentence. Instead, Clint heard her moan out of discomfort. Clint wasn't quite sure what was going on, but he would bet money that it had something to do with Alexei.

"Tasha," Clint said, panicked. "Tasha, talk to me. What's wrong?"

Clint listened as the banging continued and Natasha continued to moan and whimper. Whatever was wrong with her, she was clearly in pain. Clint heard her take a deep breath before returning her attention to the phone call. "Can you just please come to my apartment? I know things are bad between us. I know they're really bad, but I just…I need you right now," she cried. "Alexei…he's outside the bathroom and he's angry. He's really angry and I - ."

"Tasha, I'm coming. I'm coming, I promise. Please hang in there, okay? For me," he interjected quickly and then hung up the phone. Clint rushed back into the bedroom, not even worrying about trying to not wake up Bobbi. Natasha needed him. No, she didn't need him, she _wanted_ him.

As he pulled the rest of his clothes on, he heard Bobbi stir in bed. Out of the corner of his eye in the early morning darkness, he saw her sit up and look around, confused. "Clint, what are you doing?" she asked quietly.

Clint finished pulling on the rest of his clothes before turning his attention towards Bobbi. He felt guilty that he was leaving, but Natasha needed him more than Bobbi needed him right now. However, Clint debated as to whether he should tell her the truth. Bobbi knew about Clint's feelings for Natasha, but he wasn't sure if it was appropriate to tell her he was leaving her for another girl he actually cared about. Then again, if he lied, she would find out eventually that he lied to her. Either way, it wouldn't work out. But Clint figured it would be better to tell the truth seeing as Bobbi did know about his feelings for Natasha.

"I'm sorry, Bobbi. I'm really sorry," Clint said. "Something's wrong with Natasha. She's in trouble and there's something going on with Alexei. She asked for my help so - ."

"Go," Bobbi ordered.

In the darkness, Clint blinked at her with a confused disposition. "W-what?" he stammered.

"I said go," Bobbi said. "She needs you. I knew we wouldn't work out anyways. It was only a matter of time until one of you went crawling back to the other."

It took Clint a couple seconds to process what she was actually saying, and when he did, he rounded the foot of the bed and planted a kiss on Bobbi's cheek. It was the least he could do. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he exclaimed.

"Oh my God, just go!" Bobbi said with a laugh. "She needs you."

Clint nodded before rushing out of the room and bounding down the stairs. He whipped open the front door and started running down the street to the nearest train station that would take him to the Upper East Side.

* * *

The moment the elevator reached the third floor, Clint could heard the distinct sound of banging reverberating throughout the floor. He knew it had to be coming from Natasha's apartment. He walked up to the door and jiggled the handle. Surprisingly, it was unlocked and he walked into the apartment.

When he stepped foot into the apartment, the banging grew louder. Whatever was going on with Alexei, he was apparently very volatile right now. Clint saw an umbrella stand to his left – which was home to several large umbrellas – and he grabbed one. He knew it was just an umbrella but it was better than going in empty handed.

Clint followed the sound of the banging as it grew louder and louder until he reached a bedroom that Clint could only assume was Natasha's. He quietly walked in and saw the room in disarray. The blankets from the bed were twisted and contorted on the mattress. Several pieces of furniture were overturned and there was glass everywhere.

Clint was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the banging. That's when he searched the room for the source. It was louder than it had ever been so it had to be in the room somewhere. Clint's eyes searched the room until he saw a little alcove that branched off from the room. He tip toed across the room – carefully so as to avoid the shards of glass on the floor – and made his way over to the alcove.

When he reached the entrance, he saw Alexei banging on a door rather forcefully. His pupils were dilated and he looked restless. There was no doubt he was high off of cocaine, which didn't surprise Clint.

When Alexei caught Clint out of the corner of his eye, he whipped his head to the side and looked like a deer in the headlights. His eyes were wide and there was blood dripping down the side of his face. He composed himself before realizing who was standing right in front of him. "_You_," he growled before lunging forward to attack Clint.

Clint was unprepared for the attack so he was barely able to defend himself. He dropped the umbrella as Alexei's body slammed into his and they went crashing to the ground. The moment he hit the floor, Clint could feel the shards of glass sticking into his back and he only hoped they were small enough to make small scrapes.

Clint saw Alexei swing his fist back, ready for a fight. His fist immediately came plummeting forward towards Clint's jaw. Clint quickly dodged Alexei's fist and he heard it hit the hardwood flooring with a sickening crack. Alexei howled from the pain, which gave Clint an advantage.

Clint kicked Alexei off of him only to pin him down to the floor again with his knee jammed into Alexei's throat. Alexei struggled against Clint's weight but Clint had the upper hand. Despite Alexei being hopped up on coke, he knew how to handle him the second time around. Clint wasn't going to let Alexei take him down, especially when Natasha's well being was on the line.

"What did you do to her?" Clint growled.

"Fuck you!" Alexi spat.

Clint pressed his knee further into Alexei's throat to make it harder for him to take in air. "I said what did you do to her?"

Alexei struggled to breathe since Clint was constricting his airways. He let out a sickening cough and he gurgled as he tried to make words. Clint lightly let up on his throat so that he could talk. "Stay away from her!"

"That doesn't quite answer my question," Clint said tauntingly. "What did you do to her?"

Alexei was silent and Clint pressed his knee into his throat. Alexei struggled against the pressure and gurgled again as he tried to form words. Clint let up on his throat again. "She brought this onto herself. She's a whore!" Alexei spat.

That's what got Clint's blood boiling and he felt his fingers clench into a fist, and before he knew it, his fist connected with Alexei's jaw. "You don't get to call her that! You don't get to talk about her like that!" Clint screamed.

"She's been sleeping around. She's been cheating on me. She's not a virgin anymore," Alexei said with a cackle.

"Yeah," Clint said. He knew this would come back to bite him in the ass. But he didn't care anymore. He would do anything for Natasha. "She's been sleeping with me and only me."

Alexei growled as he tried to lurch towards Clint but he only jammed his knee further into Alexei's throat. "Fucking bitch," Alexei wheezed.

Clint's fingers balled into a fist one more time before colliding with Alexei's face several times in a row. When Clint had let out all of his anger, he saw Alexei go limp. Clint waited for a couple seconds before getting off of him. The moment he stood up he could feel his ribs throbbing. The past two weeks of recovery meant nothing now that he most likely reinjured himself in the fight.

He carefully made his way over to the bathroom door and rapped on it softly with his bruised and battered knuckles. "Tasha, open the door. It's Clint," he said softly so as not to startle her. It was a couple seconds before he heard her whimper and move around. He saw the doorknob turn and he took a step back. The door opened just a tad and Clint carefully pushed it open. The sight that he saw was sickening.

It was like a crime scene. The floor was smeared with crimson red blood and there were wads of towels and tissues that were stained with the red substance scattered about the room. Finally, curled up in the corner of the room by the door was Natasha. She was clutching her stomach as she was doubled over on her knees.

Clint dropped to his knees and carefully pulled Natasha into his lap. She didn't remove her arms from her midsection but she let out a weak whimper. As Clint pulled Natasha towards him, he noticed her legs and the silk chemise she was wearing were also covered in blood. "Hey Tasha, talk to me. What happened?" Clint said softly.

"You came," Natasha choked out.

"Of course I came," Clint said as he brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Now tell me what happened."

Clint saw the tears start to well up in her eyes and she swallowed heavily. "I'm so sorry, Clint," she cried.

"Nat, it's okay. This isn't your fault," Clint said.

"Everything's my fault," she cried as the tears streamed down her cheeks. "I messed everything up. I was avoiding you. I was running away from you, from us, and I shouldn't have."

"Tasha, Tasha, stop," Clint ordered.

"And I'm sorry I didn't tell you," she said, ignoring Clint's protests. "I'm so sorry."

"Tell me what, Nat?" Clint asked. Now he was getting concerned. Was she delirious from blood loss? He really needed to know what happened to her. It seemed like she had already lost a lot of blood and whatever was wrong with her, there was no doubt that she was most likely losing even more the longer they put off calling for help.

Natasha drew in a ragged, half-sobbing breath. "I should've told you. I'm sorry…" she trailed off. "I'm pregnant."

* * *

**Uh oh, what have I done? I've had this planned probably since Alexei proposed to Natasha. For those of you who wrote reviews, complaining that they didn't want Natasha to get knocked, I've been laughing at you ever since. But like, maniacal, I've-got-something-up-my-sleeve laughter. Well, she's knocked up but clearly things went horribly wrong. Whoops.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you think!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Alright, everybody take a deep breath. I've got the next chapter here for you. Enjoy!**

* * *

Clint's breathing hitched in his throat and he was pretty sure for a split second his heart stopped. Clint turned to look at the blood on the floor and on Natasha's legs and it suddenly clicked. He turned back to Natasha to see her eyelids starting to flutter shut.

"Nat, stay with me. You need to stay awake, okay?" Clint said, cupping the side of her face with his hand.

"Love you," she slurred as her eyes fluttered shut.

Clint felt like he had been hit in the chest by a ton of bricks. This was just far too much for him this early in the morning while he was still slightly drunk. Panicked, Clint gently shook Natasha in hopes that she would wake up but she didn't budge. Clint brought his fingers to Natasha's neck to check for a pulse. Thankfully, it was there so she had most likely passed out from blood loss.

From the bedroom, Clint heard Alexei stir and he quickly slammed the bathroom door shut and locked it. He reached into his pocket to pull out his phone and he immediately started scrolling through his contacts. When he reached the person he wanted to contact, he tapped his screen to the call the number. The phone rang about three times until the person on the other line picked up.

"Lover Boy," Tony Stark said from the other end. "Is there a reason you're calling me at nearly five in the morning?"

"Yes," Clint said bluntly. "I need you to come down to Natasha's apartment and make sure Alexei stays unconscious. I need you to call the police and an ambulance too."

"Whoa, whoa, what is going on?" Tony said.

"Long story, but just get down here now," Clint said firmly.

"But my lady and I are cuddling right now," Tony whined.

"Goddammit Stark! Natasha's pregnant and I think she miscarried!" Clint shouted.

There was silence on Tony's end as he absorbed the information that Clint just presented him. Clint heard the sound of movement as Tony most likely pushed the covers off of his body and got out of bed. "I'll be down in five," he said and then he hung up.

Clint pulled his phone away from his ear and tossed it onto the floor, not even caring if he damaged it or even broke it. He turned his attention back to Natasha, who was still unconscious. "Come on, Tasha. Wake up for me," Clint whispered as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Even though he didn't expect her to respond, he was still disappointed.

It wasn't much longer when Clint heard Tony walk into Natasha's bedroom and call out his name. Clint assumed that Alexei had passed out once he regained consciousness or Clint had been hearing things. Either way, there wasn't any response from Alexei.

"Lover Boy," Tony said as he softly knocked on the bathroom door. "Are you in there?"

Clint reached up to unlock the door and open it just a bit. Seconds later, Tony stepped into the bathroom with a look of shock on his face as he surveyed the scene. Just like Clint, Tony took in the blood smeared floor and the blood stained towels and tissues before his gaze landed on Clint with an unconscious Natasha in his lap.

"Is she okay?" Tony said frantically.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't know," Clint said quietly. "She still has a pulse but I think she passed out from blood loss. At least, I hope that's the case."

Tony nodded his head in understanding. "I called the cops and I told them we need an ambulance too. They're on their way."

"Good," Clint said, not taking his eyes off of Natasha. "I know this is asking a lot but go out there and look for any traces of cocaine. I'm pretty sure Alexei was using tonight. Make sure that when the cops come, that fucker goes to jail."

"It would be my genuine pleasure," Tony said and then he slipped out of the room. A couple seconds later, Clint heard Tony start to rummage around in Natasha's bedroom as he searched for any kind of evidence to hand over to the police.

"Found some!" Tony exclaimed.

"Well that was quick," Clint muttered under his breath but he felt relieved. Clint just hoped it was enough to put Alexei in jail.

It wasn't until a couple minutes later when Clint heard several people's voices and he was relieved that the cops and paramedics were finally here. Seconds later, two male paramedics entered the bathroom and started barking orders at Clint. Clint stared at them with a blank expression but reluctantly set Natasha flat on her back on the floor so they could tend to her.

Clint stood up and noticed Natasha's blood smeared all over his clothes. If he wasn't paralyzed with fear that Natasha might not be okay, he probably would've stripped right then and there. Having her blood on him made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Son, I'm sorry, but can you move out into the other room? We need space," one of the paramedics said to Clint. Clint nodded. Without taking his eyes off of Natasha's unconscious form, he stepped around the paramedics and walked out into the hallway.

As he stepped out into the hallway, Clint noticed the police handcuffing Alexei's hands behind his back. Alexei was facing away from him but Clint knew he had to be awake now. He was putting up quite a fight, but the policeman wasn't having it. Alexei was dragged to his feet and the policeman led him out of the room.

"Clint? Where's Clint?" Clint heard Natasha's weak voice. Clint's head whipped around and he felt his legs take him back into the bathroom. Clint stood behind the paramedics with a decent amount of space between them but close enough that Clint could see Natasha. Her eyes were still closed but Clint could just tell that she was awake.

"I'm right here, Nat," Clint responded.

Just as Natasha was opening her eyes, one of the police officers entered the bathroom and asked Clint to follow him. Hesitantly, Clint went with him and just as he was stepping out of the bathroom, he heard Natasha whimpered. "Clint, come back!"

"I'm not going anywhere, Nat. I'll be right back," Clint tossed over his shoulder as he followed the police officer into Natasha's bedroom. Clint noticed Tony sitting on the chair in the corner of the room as another police officer interrogated him. Clint figured they were going to do the same with him.

"What's your name, son?" the police officer asked Clint.

"Uh, Clint Barton, sir," Clint answered.

"How old are you?"

"18."

"How do you know this young man and woman?"

"Natasha's my friend. I couldn't really give a shit about Alexei."

"What are you doing here?"

"Natasha called me. She wanted me to come because she was scared."

"Your knuckles are pretty banged up there," the cop interrogating him said as he pointed to Clint's hand. Instinctively, he flexed his fingers and felt his hand scream in protest. Add that to the list of injuries on his body at the moment.

"It's not so bad," Clint said with a shrug.

"We're going to have to ask you more questions so if you and Mr. Stark don't mind coming down to the precinct that would really be great," the police officer said.

"I'm not in trouble, am I?" Clint asked nervously.

"We just need your account of the incident. It's standard protocol," the police officer replied.

At that moment, one of the paramedics excused himself as he walked in between Clint and the police officer. Instinctively, Clint's gaze immediately flitted back to the bathroom. He couldn't see the bathroom door from where he was standing but Clint just hoped Natasha was still conscious.

"What's going to happen with Alexei? How much time will he get?" Clint asked suddenly. "I know it probably isn't my business, but he has a history of violence while on drugs."

"Unfortunately, this is Mr. Shostakov's first offense, so he'll most likely get off with a warning and a fine. However, if Miss Romanoff would like to press charges, they could go to court," the police officer explained.

Clint nodded in understanding and fell silent. After a couple more minutes, the paramedic reentered the room, pushing a stretcher in front of him. He excused himself once again as he walked in between Clint and the police officer and continued to the bathroom.

"Why don't you take a seat next to Mr. Stark, Mr. Barton?" the police officer offered. "As soon as Miss Romanoff is taken to Roosevelt Hospital, we'll finish our investigation here and then head over to the precinct."

Clint nodded and dragged a chair next to Tony. Clint sat down in the chair and put his head in his hands. He wanted to know how this got so out of control. He wanted to know why he let it get so out of control. He should've just walked away when he had the chance. He should've walked away the day he returned Natasha her wallet.

_No_, Clint thought to himself. _What the fuck are you talking about? It was worth it. It was all worth it._

Clint didn't lift his head when he heard the paramedics wheeling Natasha out of the bathroom and through the room. He figured they were almost to the door when Natasha called out for Clint. "Wait! Clint!" he heard her say.

Clint lifted his head to see Natasha pushing herself up onto her elbows on the stretcher. The paramedics had stopped rolling the stretcher out of the room and started to protest but Clint was out of his seat and at Natasha's side in less than a second. Natasha instantly relaxed back against the stretcher and let out a sigh of relief.

"You're not in trouble, are you?" she whispered.

"No, I'm fine," Clint said as he brushed her hair off of her forehead.

"Come with me," she breathed.

"I can't," he said disappointedly. "I need to go with the police."

"Will you come see me afterwards?" she asked hopefully.

Clint stared into those beautiful green eyes longingly before he leaned down and pressed his lips to Natasha's. There was something about this kiss that felt different. They hadn't seen each other in two weeks so that definitely had something to do with it but there was something else there. Maybe it was the fact that – even though it was never directly said – Natasha and Alexei were no longer together. Maybe it was the fact that Natasha had just suffered a medical tragedy. Either way, this kiss was magnificently amazing.

"Is that a yes?" Natasha breathed against Clint's lips when he pulled away.

"I'll come find you. I promise," Clint reassured her. He pressed another soft kiss to her lips before the paramedics told Clint that they had to take her to the hospital to get her checked out. Clint backed away from the stretcher and the paramedics pushed it forward. Clint didn't even realize he'd been holding Natasha's hand until he noticed her fingers slip from his. Clint just hoped this wasn't the last time he saw her today.

* * *

Clint told the police everything. When they had asked him about his relationship with Natasha, Clint had to start from the beginning. There was no way they would understand if he didn't tell them everything. He knew it must have painted him in a harsh light and made him seem like a terrible person, but he didn't care. He was doing this for Natasha. He was doing this so she never had to see Alexei ever again.

When the police had gotten Clint's account, they sent him to Roosevelt Hospital so he could get checked out himself. Clint knew that the moment he reached the hospital, he wouldn't get any medical help. He would find Natasha because he had promised her that he would.

The moment he reached Roosevelt Hospital, he made a bee-line for the nurses' desk and asked where Natasha was. One of the nurses searched through the database and relayed the information to Clint. He muttered a thank you to the nurse and took off at a fast pace down the hall. He burst through the doors of the wing of the hospital he was told Natasha was in and he started searching the room numbers on the wall for Natasha's room.

When he reached room 10C, Clint hesitated to walk in. Everything was finally catching up with him. Just a few hours ago, he had been angry with Natasha. He was so angry that he had slept with someone else while he was drunk so he could forget about her.

But Clint realized that he was an idiot for thinking he could forget about Natasha. From the moment he met her outside of the Met, he couldn't stop thinking about her. Even before they had sex, even before they had kissed, even before he had returned her wallet to her, she had been on his mind 24/7. Forgetting Natasha was never an option for him.

Clint took a deep breath and stepped into Natasha's room. She looked so small and pale as she lied in the hospital bed. The hospital gown looked like it was too big for her and she practically drowned in it. She was lying on her side, facing the wall by the door and staring off into the nothingness. When she noticed Clint in the doorway, a faint smile flickered across her face and she carefully rolled onto her back.

Clint stepped forward and made his way over to Natasha's bedside. He grabbed a chair, dragged it over to her bedside, and sat down. The moment he sat down, he felt everything in his body relax. He rested his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands. A couple seconds later, Clint felt Natasha run her fingers through his hair and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Fuck Nat, how did this get so out of control?" Clint whined.

"It's not your fault, Clint," Natasha said quietly. "It's mine."

Clint groaned. It was all her fault but he didn't want to admit it out loud. He blamed her for everything but given recent circumstances, he shouldn't be blaming her. That's when he realized why he was here by her hospital bed.

"So that's why you were avoiding me," Clint said, raising his head to look at Natasha. Her eyes were trained on her lap and she didn't lift her head to meet his gaze.

It took a couple seconds for Natasha to respond to Clint. When she did, her eyes didn't move from being focused on her lap. "I was scared and I kept telling myself it wasn't real," she said. "I didn't know if I should tell you or not and then there was the fact that I was still technically with Alexei so I just…got scared."

"You? Scared?" Clint asked sarcastically.

Natasha let out a nervous laugh, still keeping her eyes trained on her lap. "Yeah, I know, shocking."

"Did you think _I_ was going to run away from _you_ if you told me?" Clint challenged.

Natasha shrugged. "I don't know," she mumbled. "Just…why does it matter? It's not like I'm having a baby anymore anyways."

"Do you realize how you made me feel for, at least, the past month?" Clint said angrily. "Even before you chose Alexei over me, you ignored me. You ignored my calls and my texts. You never made eye contact with me that day I came to your apartment. Do you have any idea what kind of hell you put me through?"

"I'm glad you came," she said quietly. "But I can understand if you'd like to leave. I can understand if you want to move on."

"I did, last night." The words left his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. He had been so angry that they just kind of slipped out. It was a bit of an overstatement, though. He hadn't moved on from her. It was quite possible he never would, but last night, he'd slept with someone else. More importantly, he'd slept with Bobbi.

"W-what?" Natasha stuttered, finally lifting her head to look at Clint. The rims of her eyes were red and Clint could see the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes, just waiting to spill over.

Clint swallowed hard. Immediately, he regretted saying it. He could tell how badly it hurt her and part him thought that she deserved it. She had hurt him and now it was time for him to hurt her. However, what Natasha had done to Clint was minor. She had chosen Alexei over him because she was scared. Sleeping with someone else was quite possibly a hard thing to overcome even if they hadn't been together at the time.

"To make it even worse, it happened last night," Clint sighed. "I was trying to get over you but…" Clint trailed off as he tried to collect his thoughts. With a deep breath, he continued. "I can't. I never will. When you called, I was angry at first but you sounded so helpless on the phone that I couldn't say no."

"If you want to leave, you can go," Natasha said, her voice shaking.

"Nat, no," Clint said as he rose from his chair and sat on the edge of her bed.

"I don't deserve you," she cried as the tears streamed down her face. "I chose Alexei over you and I nearly slept with him last night. Well, I guess I did because that's how he figured out that I wasn't a virgin anymore but I didn't want to. I swear! He was on drugs so I thought I'd just cooperate and then maybe I could just pass off the baby as his but…but…"

Natasha covered her mouth with her hands as she took a deep breath. "I wouldn't willingly sleep with anyone other than you, Clint."

"Nat…"

"I know that I've made poor choices so I completely deserve to be cheated on, if that's what we could call it," she said. "So if you want to leave, do it now."

Several seconds turned into minutes as Natasha waited for Clint to get up and leave, but he didn't budge. They sat in the hospital room in silence, staring each other down. There was a part of Natasha that wanted him to get up and walk away, walk out of her life forever. She deserved it anyways. But the other part of her – and it was a huge part of her – that wanted him to stay. Even after she ignored him, used him, and chose someone else over him, he still came to rescue her in the early hours of the morning.

"Why are you still here?" Natasha said, finally breaking the silence.

"Do you really think I want to leave you when I just got you back?" Clint asked rhetorically.

Natasha felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. "Really?" she asked hopefully.

Clint answered by pressing his lips to hers. It felt good to kiss her without having to worry about morals or Alexei finding out. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.

"Wait, wait," Natasha said when Clint pulled away from her. "Are you going to stay here with me?"

"Do you want me to?" Clint asked and Natasha nodded in response. "Then I'll stay here as long as I don't get kicked out."

Natasha felt a faint smile spread across her face again as she relaxed in the hospital bed. She scooted over and tugged on Clint's hand to let him know he should join her. Natasha rolled onto her side and Clint swung his legs up onto the bed to curl up next to Natasha. Natasha suddenly reached behind her and grabbed Clint's hand, draping his arm over her body and keeping their fingers intertwined.

Clint smiled to himself as he relaxed and pulled Natasha closer to him. It had been a while since they were intimate like this. In fact, they probably hadn't been like this since her birthday when they had slept together. Either way, Clint felt at ease so he finally let himself drift off into a peaceful slumber with Natasha in his arms.

* * *

**So Natasha lost the baby and she and Clint have made amends. They're okay. For now.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you think!**


	23. Chapter 23

**So I'm posting this as I suffer through a wave of feels thanks to _The Walking Dead_. I mean really, one episode of that show stresses me out more than an entire semester of school does. Jeez. But anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

Clint wasn't quite sure how long he had been asleep when he woke up. He figured it had to have been a few hours because he could still see light streaming through the cracks in the blinds over the window. Clint carefully shifted his position slightly so he didn't wake up Natasha, who was still asleep in his arms.

When he was in a comfortable position, he readjusted his arm, which was still draped over Natasha's waist. Clint smiled to himself as he curled up closer to Natasha. He knew he was foolish to take her back but she was all he ever wanted. They could stop sneaking around. They could finally be together.

Clint felt Natasha squirm uncomfortably in his grasp. He went to move his arm but Natasha just tugged on his hand, as if to tell him to keep his arm across her waist. It wasn't much longer when he heard Natasha let out a faint whimper, as if she was crying.

"Nat, what's wrong?" Clint asked as he lifted his head to see what was wrong.

Natasha turned her head, burying her face in her pillow. "My hormones are just fucked up. That's all," she whined.

Clint wasn't quite sure what to say so he just pulled her closer to him and let her cry it out. She hadn't been upset a couple hours ago when he had arrived at the hospital so Clint just figured everything was finally catching up to her now.

"It's okay, Nat. You're okay," Clint said comfortingly.

"Why does this hurt so much?" she cried. "I didn't do anything about it. I never went to the doctor's to get checked out. I just took a home test and that was it. So why does it hurt so much?"

Clint didn't know how to respond. He knew this should hurt him too. It was his kid that she had miscarried after all. But he couldn't find it in him to respond. He knew that made him seem heartless but how could he cry over something he had lost that he didn't even know he had?

"And I panicked," she continued as she cried into her pillow. "When he kneed me in the stomach, I panicked because I thought it would hurt the baby but that just made it worse."

"Nat, you can stop. You don't have to talk about it anymore," Clint said.

Natasha whimpered as she swiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Nat - ."

"Who the hell are you?" Clint stiffened at the sound of someone else in the room. That's when he realized that his back was facing the door. Hesitantly, Clint glanced over his shoulder to see both a man and a woman standing in the doorway with confused expressions on their faces. The man was holding a bouquet of flowers while the woman was carrying a tray of Starbucks.

That's when it clicked for Clint and he realized who these people were. He'd never met them before so he realized how awkward it must've looked for Clint to be curled up next to a crying Natasha in a hospital bed. These were Natasha's parents and Clint's first impression on them was not a pleasant one.

Suddenly, Natasha's father tossed the bouquet of flowers aside as he headed towards Clint. Clint scrambled to get out of the bed, only to tumble to the floor and land with a _thud_. Natasha's father grabbed Clint by the sweatshirt and slammed him up against the wall. Upon impact, Clint felt the ache in his ribs and he was reminded that he still needed medical attention.

"Daddy, no!" Clint heard Natasha yell.

"Quiet, Natasha," Natasha's father barked without taking his eyes off of Clint. "What are you doing with my daughter?"

"Daddy, that's the boy I told you I like," Natasha said.

"What did I say, Natasha?" Natasha's father spat.

"Daddy, please don't hurt him," she pleaded.

Natasha's father glared at Clint for what felt like an eternity to him before he released Clint. Clint breathed a sigh of relief but he figured he wasn't off the hook quite yet. Natasha's father looked like he was seeing red and Clint was pretty convinced he was going to get his ass kicked. At least this ass-kicking he knew he would deserve.

"We need to speak to our daughter. Alone," Natasha's father said icily.

With eyes wide with shock, Clint nodded his head and headed to the door. He was nearly through the doorway when Clint heard Natasha softly call his name. He hesitated to turn around out of fear that Natasha's father would sock him right in the face but he did it anyways. When he turned around, he noticed Natasha's parents by her bedside but Natasha's gaze was focused on Clint.

"Are you going to come back?" she asked hopefully.

Clint glanced at Natasha's parents. Her mother looked like she was hopelessly confused but her father looked like he was about to murder Clint. Clint swallowed nervously as he turned his attention back to Natasha. "Umm, we'll see," he said and then turned around to head out of the room.

The moment Clint stepped out into the hallway, Natasha's father slammed the door behind him. The sound eerily echoed down the hall and he suddenly felt a pang of fear hit him in the chest. Hospitals freaked him out so he couldn't even imagine what else this place of death and dying and sickness had in store for him.

* * *

Mr. Romanoff whipped around after he slammed the door on Clint's way out. His gaze focused on Natasha and he shot her an icy glare. "Well, Natasha? What do you have to say for yourself?" he spat.

"I don't understand," Natasha said as she gently shook her head.

"We thought you were a lot smarter than this. We didn't think you were going to get yourself knocked up!" Mr. Romanoff exclaimed. "Good Lord, all four of us are having a talk when we get home. You, me, your mother, and Alexei."

"What?" Natasha shouted. "Alexei? Dad, you don't even know the whole story!"

"I believe I do," Mr. Romanoff said condescendingly.

"No, you don't," Natasha said firmly. At first, she had to stop herself. She knew that what she was about to say was not only going to paint her in a horrible light, but Clint as well. She could quite possibly be setting him up for a beat down from her father. But her dad needed to know the truth. Her father needed to know how horrible of a person Alexei was. And even though Clint did knock her up, her father needed to know that Clint was actually a good person.

"I slept with Clint and he got me pregnant. Alexei and I, sort of, had sex last night and he freaked out when he figured out I wasn't a virgin anymore and he went off the rails," Natasha said.

"Ugh! Natasha! Subtly tell us this! Do not use the actual words!" Mr. Romanoff exclaimed in disgust as he visibly cringed.

"Sex! Virgin! Pregnant!" Natasha screamed. "I'm 18-years-old, not eight. We're all adults here so I think we should use adult words."

"Either way, Natasha, we're appalled that you weren't smart enough to use protection," Mrs. Romanoff chimed in.

"Who gives a flying fuck!" Natasha exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm not pregnant anymore. Satisfied?"

"No, we're not, darling. The doctors told us you lost a lot of blood that you could've nearly died," Mrs. Romanoff said calmly.

"This would've never happened if Alexei hadn't been using and practically pressured me into having sex with him," Natasha muttered under her breath as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Now don't go blaming Alexei," Mr. Romanoff scolded.

"Don't blame Alexei? _Don't blame Alexei?_" Natasha challenged. "That fucker did this to me." Natasha angrily pulled down the neck of her hospital gown to expose the scar from the knife wound.

"Natasha," Mrs. Romanoff gasped. While Mrs. Romanoff fussed over the knife wound scar, Natasha stared down her father who was staring at Natasha in shock.

"So, remind me why we shouldn't blame Alexei again?" Natasha challenged. She continued to glare at her father while he tried to compose himself from this shocking revelation.

"He uses a lot, Dad," Natasha continued. "Last night was the icing on top of the cake."

"And this Clint boy is any better for you?" Mr. Romanoff countered.

"I'm going to sound like one of those lovesick girls that say yes but he is," Natasha said. "What guy would come to my rescue at nearly four o'clock in the morning after I had used him, ignored him, and chose someone else instead of him? Hmm? Answer that."

Mr. Romanoff looked at Natasha like she had just slapped him across the face. Natasha just stared him down icily. Mr. Romanoff shook his head as he collected his thoughts. "I think you and this boy shouldn't see each other."

Natasha jaw dropped. "What? Dad, no!" she shouted as she fought back tears. "You were willing to let me dump Alexei for him and now you're telling me I can't see him?"

"Well, given recent circumstances, Natasha, it doesn't seem like you should," he said, arching an eyebrow at her in contempt.

"Dad, no! Please!" she begged. "I-I love him! I'm _in_ love with him! You can't seriously keep me away from him."

"I just think you need a little time to mature," Mr. Romanoff said and left it at that.

Natasha could feel the tears threatening to spill over but she bit the inside of her mouth to keep them from doing so. She could've chalked it up to the hormones that were still raging through her body but she didn't want to. This was all her. She couldn't believe she was being forbidden from seeing Clint.

"I'll go find him and give you guys some time," Mr. Romanoff said as he opened the door to her hospital room. He stepped out of the room and headed down the hall, leaving Natasha to drown in her sorrows.

* * *

Clint was nearly half asleep in the waiting room when he heard a deep voice shout his name. He blinked blearily and focused on the figure in the doorway. When his eyes focused, he could've sworn he stopped breathing for a few seconds as he noticed Natasha's father glaring at him. Clint straightened up in his chair but didn't move. Natasha's father thrust his index finger in Clint's direction and beckoned for him to join him.

Clint hesitantly stood up from his chair and walked over to Natasha's father. If they hadn't met under unfortunate and strange circumstances, Clint figured he probably would've liked her father. As of right now, he was absolutely terrifying.

"You can go see her. You have five minutes and then you need to leave," Natasha's father said.

"O-okay," Clint stuttered.

"Then when you leave, I don't want you to see her for a while," Natasha's father said.

"I'm sorry?" Clint questioned. When Natasha's father shot him a nasty look, Clint swallowed out of nervousness and added, "Umm, sir."

"Given recent circumstances, we don't think the two of you should be hanging out," Natasha's father explained. "Maybe later on down the road you can but Natasha needs to focus on her studies now."

Clint's was speechless. He wasn't allowed to see Natasha. He wasn't sure of the next time he'd be able to see her. Today would be the last time he would be able to see her for God knows how long.

"Well, let's go. Remember, you have five minutes," Natasha's father reminded Clint as he headed back towards Natasha's room. Clint followed, albeit several steps behind him. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he didn't even realize they had reached Natasha's room.

Natasha's father disappeared into the room but Clint hung back out in the hallway. He didn't want to go in the room unless he was told he could go in. Less than a minute later, Natasha's father reentered the hallway with Natasha's mother in tow. Natasha's mother brushed past her husband and Clint while she headed to the nearest nurses' station.

"She's getting discharged in an hour. Like I said, you have five minutes," Natasha's father reminded Clint and then brushed past Clint to join his wife at the end of the hall.

Clint couldn't believe this was happening. He had finally gotten her back only to have her parents rip the rug right out from underneath the both of them. With a sigh, Clint stepped into Natasha's room and saw her resting her head on her arms which were folded on top of her raised knees. Clint crossed the room and sat down on the edge of Natasha's bed. He brushed a finger across her arm and she lifted her head to meet her eyes with his. The rims of her eyes were red and she sniffled as she tried to choke back more tears.

"How does this keep happening to us?" she choked out.

"Maybe your parents will come around. Maybe we won't have to stay away from each other for long." Clint knew that wouldn't happen but he was trying to stay extremely positive for Natasha's case. And even though it was a lie, he had managed to convince himself it would happen even though it might not.

"They won't," she whined. "My mom thinks I'll forget you over time but…but I don't think I can. I don't think it's possible."

"Hey Nat," Clint said as he reached out to cradle her face in his hands. "We'll be fine. We'll find some way around this."

Natasha smiled a weak smile for Clint but the tears continued to fall down her face. Clint wiped away a tear with his thumb and he flashed a faint smile in comfort.

"I just got you back and now you have to leave me," Natasha sighed.

Clint chuckled. "I was just thinking the same exact thing."

Natasha let out a nervous laugh as she wiped away the tears that were still rolling down her face. "So, you didn't move on from me even after I was a complete bitch to you. Will you wait for me this time around?" she asked hopefully.

Clint smiled at her as he leaned forward to crush his lips to hers. There was no telling when he'd be able to kiss her again so he was going to milk it for all its worth.

"Is that a yes?" she whispered against Clint's lips in between kisses.

"That's a hell yes," Clint said.

Natasha giggled but instantly cut it off when she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye. She broke away from Clint and her eyes met with her father's, who was impatiently standing in the doorway. Clint turned his head to see what Natasha was looking at and he flinched away from Natasha.

"I'm afraid your five minutes are up," Mr. Romanoff deadpanned.

Clint nodded in understanding but didn't move from his perch on the edge of Natasha's bed. Instead, he turned back to face her and was met with sad eyes. He knew his five minutes were up but he was going to make sure that when he walked away from Natasha, he wasn't walking away from her while she was sad.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" he said reassuringly. He knew it was a lie, but he hoped that if he told her that, it would calm her down. Natasha drew in a deep breath and nodded.

"I'm sorry Clint, but it's time for you to go," Mr. Romanoff said.

Clint hung his head and then he rose from the edge of Natasha's hospital bed. He smiled a faint smile to her and she returned it. With one last look into those green eyes, Clint turned and headed out of the room. As he passed by Mr. Romanoff, Clint noticed him nod at him. And that was what gave Clint hope that he would see Natasha some time soon.

* * *

**I am seriously so mean haha. I think I'll wrap this up in two more chapters but if I can't, I'll let you know within the next two chapters.**

**By the way, I've been meaning to mention this since I've been updating. If any of you are big Jeremy Renner fans (and I'm sure a lot of you are), he'll be hosting _Saturday Night Live_ on November 17. He was actually a popular pick by _SNL_ viewers for host. Producers asked viewers who they wanted to see host and Jeremy Renner was a popular choice. Therefore, our lovely Hawkeye/Clint Barton will be hosting on November 17. With Maroon 5 as musical guest! Adam Levine and Jeremy Renner on one stage? That is just too much sexiness for my ovaries. I mean really. Come on.**

**Okay, rant over. As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you think!**


	24. Chapter 24

**People of the world, I post this in the midst of the election and the President of the United States is...Barack Obama! Four for you Obama! You go Obama! Phew! It was an intense election and I actually got nervous that Romney was going to win. If he did, I was going to move to Europe after I graduate college because I do not want to deal with that bullshit. No thank you. I'd rather wait tables in Paris than deal with Romney's bullshit (sorry if any of you are/were Romney supporters). But anyways, this is indeed the second to last chapter. Our lovely Tony Stark is trying to come to the rescue. Think he'll succeed. Here is the penultimate chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

After Clint said goodbye to Natasha, he headed down to the hospital entrance to meet Tony. Tony had been nice enough to accompany him to the hospital but he hung back in the sitting area by the entrance so he could give Clint and Natasha some alone time. The fact that Tony was still waiting surprised Clint. About three hours had passed while Clint and Natasha were asleep in her bed so Clint was surprised that Tony had still stuck around.

When Clint noticed Tony slumped down in a chair in the sitting area, he walked over to him and plopped down in the chair next to him.

"Well it's about time Lover Boy," Tony griped. "How's Little Red?"

"I'm not allowed to see her," Clint said as he blankly stared ahead.

"Oh for Christ's sake, what's her problem this time?" Tony exclaimed.

"It's not her. It's her parents. They told us we couldn't see each other," Clint said. There was no emotion in his voice and he felt like he was devoid of all feelings. He was practically still in shock that this was happening. Eventually, like everything else does, it would catch up with him.

Tony stared back at him in disbelief. "Well, that's certainly a curveball."

"Yeah, no shit," Clint responded blankly.

The two boys sat in the sitting area in silence as they absorbed the events from the past several hours. Now that everything was dying down, Clint could feel the aching throb in his side where he most likely reinjured his ribs. Clint sighed deeply but he knew that only made it worse.

"Alright, come on Barton. You need to get looked at. Come on, my treat," Tony said as he rose from his chair. It was almost as if he was taking Clint out to dinner and he was willing to pay.

With a sigh, Clint rose from his chair and then followed Tony towards the ER. Tony walked through the doors as if he owned the place and that's when Clint realized that it wouldn't really surprise him if he did. Tony demanded that a doctor check Clint out and before he knew it, Clint was sitting on the edge of a lumpy hospital bed with his shirt off. Lo and behold, in the few hours since round two with Alexei, nasty purple-black bruises as begun to form around his ribs, as well as on his back.

"Well, it's a wonder you don't have a punctured lung, Mr. Barton," the doctor said as she gently prodded Clint's ribs with her fingers. "I'm going to write out a prescription for you and I'd just advise that you rest."

Clint nodded silently and the doctor walked away. Clint grabbed his shirt from behind him on the bed and carefully pulled it on over his head. He hissed out of discomfort when he bent a certain way but he powered through the pain. With a sigh, he rested his hands on either side of him on the edge of the bed and hung his head.

"I give up," he mumbled to Tony. "It seems that no matter what we do, the rug keeps getting ripped out from underneath us. We don't deserve each other apparently.

"Nah, don't say that!" Tony exclaimed encouragingly. "What were the odds of you knocking her books out of her arms that day? It was meant to be. That's what the city is all about. It's about chance encounters!"

"Has your girlfriend been making you watch too many romantic comedies?" Clint asked.

"Don't blame my lady," Tony retorted. "I do have a soft side you know."

"God, you and my dad would get along just fine," Clint griped as he rolled his eyes at Tony.

"Anyways," Tony sighed. "Don't give up yet. Things always work out. This is New York City, after all."

Clint dropped the subject after that. He knew that the more he talked about it, the more he would get angry over it. He was done with the depressing shit. He wasn't going to cry over it, but he would get angry over it the more he thought about it. He pushed it to the back of his head as the doctor came back with a piece of paper. She advised him to take two tablets every six hours if the pain persisted. Otherwise, he should take two tablets once a day. Clint thanked the doctor for her help and Tony took care of the bill like he said he would. With that, they walked out into the chilly mid-morning air.

"Ah, so what are we going to do for the rest of the day, Lover Boy?" Tony said as he breathed in the crisp air.

"I just think I'm going to go back to Brooklyn," Clint said quietly.

"Whoa, wait, you're from Brooklyn?" Tony said in shock.

"Seriously, how did you not figure that out by now? I mean, you should've at least known I'm not from Manhattan," Clint said, arching an eyebrow at Tony. "And I even told the cab driver my address the night of your party right in front of you!"

"I was preoccupied. But God, you being from Brooklyn is all the more reason to believe that this is all going to work out in the end!" Tony exclaimed.

"Shut up, Stark," Clint grumbled.

"Seriously, this is just like _Gossip Girl_," Tony said.

Clint snorted a laugh. "My dad said the same exact thing."

"I mean," Tony said as he grew really serious. "Pepper makes me watch it. Yeah, like I'd seriously watch that show on my own terms."

"Oh sure, Pepper _forces_ you to watch it," Clint said sarcastically.

Tony pouted while Clint chuckled. While Clint realized that Tony could be a self-absorbed prick, he could also be a good friend. Clint had to admit that he didn't think he'd find a friend in Tony Stark but he did.

"Alright Brooklyn," Tony said, crowning Clint with a new nickname. "I guess it's time for you to return to the motherland."

Clint chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

Tony walked to the edge of the sidewalk and hailed a cab. Immediately, a yellow cab came to a halt at the edge of the sidewalk. Tony turned around to face Clint and smiled as if he was proud of himself.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, Barton," Tony said with a smirk.

"Ha, yeah, I guess it is," Clint said.

Tony turned back to the cab and handed the driver a fistful of bills. "Take him home," Tony said, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder in Clint's direction. "Keep the change."

Clint headed over to the cab and opened the back door. He hesitated to get in as he waited for Tony to finish his spiel with the driver. When he turned to Clint, Clint flashed a faint smile.

"Thanks Stark," Clint said genuinely. "And…will you - ."

"I'll keep an eye on her, of course," Tony interjected.

Clint nodded before ducking into the cab. Tony shut the door for Clint and Clint settled in for the ride home. The cab lurched forward as it began racing downtown.

"Where to, kid?" the cab driver asked.

Clint took a deep breath. This was going to be his last ride from the Upper East Side. He didn't see himself returning in the near future. "Brooklyn."

* * *

Tony knew he had to do something. When he sent Clint back to Brooklyn, he knew he was incredibly hurt over the fact that he had no idea when he would see Natasha ever again, or if he would ever see her again. Tony didn't blame him. If he was told he couldn't see Pepper, he would go insane. That's why Tony had to do something.

Tony could tell that Natasha wasn't dealing with the situation well either. In the days after her miscarriage, Tony barely saw her. Before the miscarriage, he would run into her in the elevator, pass her in the lobby, or sit with her during lunch at school. But now, he barely saw her. The one time he did see her, she looked like hell. Her red curls were lackluster and she was wearing a pair of yoga pants and an oversized sweatshirt. It was the least fabulous Tony had ever seen the red head.

But in the weeks following the miscarriage, she started to become herself again. She started to put more of an effort into her appearance and she started to each lunch with him, Pepper, and Maria again. It took a while for her to start laughing and smiling again, but it took a lot of work.

A little over a month after the miscarriage, Tony found out that Natasha had gotten accepted to Columbia University. As far as he knew, it was Natasha's first choice. And even though Natasha's parents could easily pay for her tuition for the next four years, Pepper told Tony that Natasha had been awarded a scholarship that covered 75% of her tuition each year.

"She's pretty sure that's where she's going," Pepper had told Tony one day after school. "You can't pass up a scholarship like that."

Tony was running out of time and he still didn't have a plan. Every so often he texted Clint to ask how he was doing, but when he got responses they were either really late at night or really vague. A week after Natasha found out she had been accepted to Columbia, Tony had decided to ask Clint about his college plans.

_Any colleges accept you?_ Tony's message read.

Surprisingly, Clint responded within a few minutes and his answer shocked Tony.

_Yeah, Pace University accepted me today_, Clint wrote.

_Pace? As in Pace down by the World Trade Center site?_ Tony typed back frantically.

_Yeah, does it shock you that I'm smart enough to go there?_ Clint wrote sarcastically.

Tony scoffed at Clint's snarky comment and furiously typed a response. _Natasha's going to Columbia._

Tony was hesitant to send his message. The few times he had texted Clint since he sent him on his way from the hospital, Tony hadn't mentioned Natasha to Clint at all. Tony knew that Clint had to be yearning for some tidbit of information regarding Natasha so Tony hoped that would be good enough.

Tony pressed send and anxiously sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on the tabletop. Every two seconds he pressed a button on his phone to light up the screen to make sure he didn't miss a response from Clint. Seconds turned into minutes as Tony anxiously awaited a response from Clint.

Finally, nearly seven minutes later, Clint responded to Tony. He frantically grabbed his phone and opened the message.

_And you're telling me this why?_ Clint's message read.

Tony rolled his eyes and began to quickly type back another response. _If you go to Pace, you and Natasha will both be in Manhattan._

_We're not supposed to see each other_, Clint responded quickly.

Talking to Clint was like talking to a stubborn four-year-old. Tony was trying to give Clint some sort of hope. Both Clint and Natasha were 18-years-old and they would be at college in the fall. Natasha's parents couldn't tell them what they can or can't do.

That's when Tony realized he needed to stop trying to make Clint and Natasha feel better. He needed to stop trying to encourage them to do things behind Natasha's parents' backs. Tony needed to talk to Natasha's parents and he needed to talk to them now.

So Tony swiped his phone off of his desk and grabbed the keys to his apartment as he headed down several floors to Natasha's apartment. When he approached her door, he rapped his knuckles three times on the door and stepped back to patiently wait for someone to answer. When no one answered after a couple of minutes, Tony decided to take it up a notch. Balling his fist, he pounded it against the door five times and then stepped back as he waited for someone to answer. Seconds later, he heard the sounds of footsteps before the door swung open to reveal an angry Mr. Romanoff.

"Ah, good," Tony said. "Now that I've got your attention, we need to talk."

* * *

**Oh boy, what do you think Tony's going to do? Think he'll make it worse? Or better? There's only one more chapter left for Clint and Natasha to get a happily ever after.**

**As always, thank you for adding this to your favorites, signing up for alerts, and reviewing. Reviews are very much appreciated so please leave me a lovely review to let me know what you think!**


	25. Chapter 25

**Alright, here it is. Indeed, this is the last chapter. I hope you like it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the song lyrics at the end of the chapter. They belong to Lana Del Rey.**

* * *

It was a sunny, humid day in the beginning of June as the soon-to-be graduates of Bedford Academy High School marched to the nearby park for the graduation ceremony. From their perspective, there were rows of white chairs on either side of the aisle. There was a small stage set up in front with a podium and a couple chairs for the administrators to sit on. Next to the podium was a small table with a box that, most likely, contained the diplomas. Finally, off to the side, were rows of more white chairs that were already packed with parents, family members, and friends.

"Alright, settle down!" Mr. Coulson said. Coulson usually organized graduation and was the one to read the names and hand out the diplomas. "Remember how we did it in rehearsal. We march in. You sit in your seat. You shut the hell up during the whole ceremony and when your name is called, you come up, get your diploma, and sit back down in your seat to wait for everyone to get theirs. Got it?"

The soon-to-be graduates chanted their responses and Coulson turned his back to them as he prepared to lead the march down the aisle. The music flooded the park and Coulson walked forward to lead the students in. The spectators cheered as the soon-to-be graduates marched in behind Coulson and sat down in their designated seats.

For Clint, today was just another day. He would be handed a piece of paper that said he graduated and he would be sent on his way. He couldn't believe parents actually cried over this sort of stuff. He couldn't believe his mother had actually cried over it already, and he hadn't even graduated yet.

Clint's graduating class wasn't very big – maybe about 100 students at most – so he followed Bruce into their row and took a seat next to the science whiz. They waited patiently for the rest of their classmates to take their seats and almost immediately, Principal Fury took his position at the podium to start his spiel about looking to the future.

"God, he really doesn't change his speech at all," Clint mumbled under his breath to Bruce.

Bruce chuckled. "This is seriously the same speech from when your brother graduated?"

Clint nodded and then grew silent. The last thing he wanted was for Fury to call him out for talking while he was giving a speech. He knew it would happen at least once during the ceremony and he didn't want to be that person who received an earful from Fury for the last time.

When Fury had finished his spiel, he introduced Bruce, the class valedictorian, and Bruce rose from his seat to make his way to the stage. Bruce's classmates – including all of his friends – cheered as he climbed the stairs of the stage and shook Principal Fury's hand. Fury moved out of the way to let Bruce take his position at the podium.

As Clint listened to Bruce give his speech, he actually got pretty excited. In the fall, he would be at Pace University. He was hesitant at first to even go to college. He figured he would most likely end up like Barney and go to a community college for four years, taking two or three classes per semester. But he realized he didn't want to do that. His impending graduation had motivated him to get a proper education at a university. He had sent in his deposit and chosen his housing; he felt like he was ready to start over in the fall.

Bruce had finished out his speech and Clint joined in on the applause with the rest of his classmates. Bruce walked down the steps of the stage and rejoined Clint and the rest of the soon-to-be graduates. It was at that point that Coulson took his spot at the podium to begin announcing names and handing out diplomas.

"Ah shit, this is really happening, isn't it?" Clint said with a chuckle.

"Ha, yeah, I guess it is," Bruce said nervously.

"Bruce Banner," Coulson announced and Bruce rose from his seat and made his way up the stage for the second time that day. He shook Coulson's hand and took his diploma with the other. He waved to his parents in the audience off to the side as climbed down the stairs on the other end of the stage.

"Clint Barton," Coulson announced. Clint rose from his chair and followed the same path Bruce took as he walked up to the stage. He climbed the steps and shook Coulson's hand as he grabbed his diploma. As he walked across the stage to descend the other set of steps, he searched the crowd of parents to find his own. Row by row, he searched for his parents. When he spotted his brother, he raised his hand to wave, but stopped when he noticed something different. A flash of red hair.

He nearly tripped as he descended the steps and made his way back his seat next to Bruce. He wasn't particularly paying attention to where he was going and nearly missed his row. Bruce had to hiss his name to grab his attention.

"What are you so captivated with over there?" Bruce asked.

"I just…thought I saw something," Clint said as he tore his eyes away from the audience of parents and family members.

Clint focused his eyes forward as he waited for Coulson to hand out the diplomas to his friends. Bruce and Clint applauded together when Steve and Thor received their diplomas and Clint. Bruce grinned from ear-to-ear when Betty received her diploma. Clint even clapped when Bobbi's name was called.

When the last student had received their diploma and was back in their seat, Coulson paused before he introduced them as the recent graduating class from Bedford Academy High School. The student erupted in applause and cheers. Caps were tossed into the air and silly string rained down on them. Bruce and Clint immediately screamed out of joy and hugged. By the time they broke away from each other, Betty had reached Bruce and she jumped up and pressed her lips to his.

"Oh wow," Clint said with a chuckle.

Bruce and Betty didn't break apart, at least not until Steve and Thor arrived with Peggy and Jane.

"Alright, Bruce!" Thor boomed as he wrapped an arm around Jane's shoulders. Bruce and Betty pulled away from each other and they both turned a deep shade of red. Clint and his friends chuckled at Bruce but congratulated him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Clint saw it again, the flash of red hair. He thought he had been seeing things when he was on stage but now he was pretty sure he was going insane. It couldn't be…_her_. They weren't allowed to see each other.

Then again, she wasn't quite one to follow the rules. That's what convinced him to keep searching through the crowd for her. He stood up onto his tiptoes to search for her red hair in the crowd. There would be no mistaking it. Her hair was so unmistakably and vibrantly red that there was no way he could miss it. Then, almost as if the crowd was reading his mind, they parted to reveal the girl he hadn't seen in months.

She looked exactly the same, though he didn't know why he thought she would have changed much. Her red curls were just brushing her shoulders and there was a headband in her hair. She wore a light blue sundress that was a cinched with a brown belt at the waist. Her white cardigan was over her dress but the sleeves were pushed up past the elbows.

He saw her smile at him as she slowly made her way through the crowd towards him. He was in absolute shock and he kept his feet firmly planted on the ground. He was so in shock that he hadn't even noticed that she was finally standing in front of him, her green eyes boring into his blue-grey ones.

"Are you going to say anything?" Natasha asked with a smile.

"Umm…" Clint mumbled.

"Hi Clint, how are you? Oh I'm fine, Natasha. I just graduated high school, how about you?" Natasha said sarcastically.

Clint chuckled nervously. "W-what are you doing here?" he stammered.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me," Clint challenged. "I think I would."

"Tony. He convinced my parents to let us see each other again," Natasha said bluntly. "I guess he was sick of us moping around so he took the matter into his own hands by barging into my apartment in the middle of dinner one night and convinced my parents to let us see each other once we both graduated high school."

"So you've graduated?"

"Last night," she said with a smirk.

Clint could feel a goofy smile spreading across his face. He had wondered how their reunion would go and it definitely wasn't like this. But that was okay with Clint. He didn't need it to play out like it did in his head. As long as he had her, that's all that mattered.

"So, I hear you're going to Columbia," Clint said playfully.

Natasha nodded. "So I hear you're going to Pace," she said and Clint nodded. "Well, if you know anything about Manhattan schools, you should know that Pace and Columbia are on opposite ends of Manhattan but they are both, indeed, in Manhattan."

"Wow, I did not know that," Clint said sarcastically. "What are the odds?"

"I know. What a coincidence. That's so strange," she said with a smirk.

"Well, you're quite lucky to have chosen a school that's in the same city as mine," Clint said as he rested his hands on her hips, completely forgetting about his cap and diploma. He was hesitant to rest his hands on her hips at first because he was pretty convinced this was either all a dream or the rug was going to get ripped right out from underneath them again.

He saw her green eyes soften and she reached up to touch both sides of his face. "That's what Tony said. Well, he said we were lucky to have run into each other outside of the Met that day," she said softly. "Think about it, Clint."

"Yeah, well, if we hadn't met, I would've never knocked you up," Clint said with a chuckle. "Alexei would've never found out and you would've never miscarried."

"I'm glad it happened, though," she said. "If it hadn't, I'd probably still be in an unhappy relationship with Alexei. Who knows, I would've probably married him by now."

"Don't say that, Nat," Clint said.

Natasha looked down at the ground as she tried to hide a smile that was spreading across her face. "I missed that."

Clint chuckled. Just as he was about to reach underneath her chin to lift her face, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He quickly dug around in his pocket and pulled out his phone to see the caller ID flashing Tony's name.

"What, Stark?" Clint growled when he answered the phone. "I'm in the middle of celebrating my recent graduation from high school."

"You can't fool me, Barton," Tony said. "I know you're angry that I interrupted your reunion with Little Red so I'm just going to be short, sweet, and to the point. I worked hard to convince Natasha's parents to lift the whole ban on your relationship so don't fuck this up."

Clint chuckled. "Don't worry, Stark. Your hard work won't go to waste."

"Hard work," Natasha scoffed under her breath and Clint smiled.

"Yeah, whatever. So did you kiss her yet? Knowing you two you're standing there making googly eyes at each other," Tony said.

"Shut up, Stark," Clint snapped.

"Whatever, just kiss her and get it over with," Tony said. "And don't fuck this up. Okay, bye!" With that, the line went dead. Clint shoved his phone back into his pocket.

"What did ass hat want?" Natasha asked.

"He wanted to tell me to not fuck this up and he asked me if I kissed you yet," Clint asked.

"Hmm, yeah, I was wondering the same thing," Natasha said sarcastically.

Clint chuckled and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to Natasha's. He felt Natasha reach up to touch his face again and he snaked his arms around her waist to pull her close.

Months ago, he would be savoring a moment like this because he would never know when he'd get another chance to kiss her like this. But now, she was his and he was hers. Indeed, they were lucky to have found each other.

* * *

_Every now and then, the stars align,_

_Boy and girl meet by the great design._

_Could it be that you and me are the lucky ones._

* * *

**Awww and there's the happy ending that I promised. I'm sorry, I can't write unhappy endings. It might be because I'm still too emotionally scarred from **_**Dear Natasha**_** and I read it **_**months**_** ago. Anyways, thank you to everyone who added this to their favorites, signed up for alerts, and reviewed. Therefore, a big thank you to all of my reviewers: Rue Mo, dontstopthelove15, flarey phoenix, yolynnjones, dammitjoanne, IcarusOwl, PurplePercabethPandaLover, GyMusicAddict, Morgan, Dani9513, LittleMissMia123, mellbell12123, Reasonably Random, Black Magic Hunter, Fire in the Willows, Waterlilies, katielee97, FemaleMusketeer, Bobthepegasus, PaigeD6, pure-black-wings, Barry Allen, Lollypops101, ADHD Gal, Bart Evans, girl with crayon, Slightlysane443, CtrlTHaT, hogwartsharpist, Major Trouble, sibunagirl-0331, Orion84, Trinilynn, Lillyflora, SailorMoonLover24, Clkaudiia, NCISVILLE, Hawaiichick, Jenasys Loveless Lovecraft, AlexisRomanoff-Barton, MaximumMelody, JaymieCaitlyn, bookworm1517, shaneequa, fanboyReader, Elisa, .Ninja, ZeDancingHobbit, Arwennicole, Mushroomking98, Roxa-XIII, number1don, lilacring1120, WolfAngel62, Avengergirl, olimpia, Revenger Tigger, and all the guest reviewers!**

**I want to thank you all for sticking with me during this wild and crazy ride. Even after I wasn't so nice to my characters sometimes haha. Now that I've finished this story, expect **_**To Rome With Love**_** to get updated sometime soon. Hopefully this weekend. Anyways, thank you so much for reading. It means so much that everyone likes reading what I write. Thank you so much. I love you all!**


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